Elle Macpherson dating convicted cocaine smuggler

Aussie supermodel Elle Macpherson has a new man in her life, Brian John Burgess, 56, who she meet on the celebrity internet dating service Devil Called Love

Burgess, who happens to be a convicted cocaine smuggler, has a removal company in London called Aussie Man&Van, helped the 44-year-old model move from Notting Hill, West London, to nearby Ladbroke Grove, and became friendly with her.

He had been found guilty of drug trafficking by the NSW District Court in 1996, and sentenced to four years jail after he attempted to smuggle 2kg of cocaine from the US inside hollowed-out books.

The news about the relationship between the two came up when Burgess, who was looking at new Jaguars in a showroom in Chelsea, mentioned it.

“The salesman was an Aussie and they were getting on great,” News.com.au quoted an onlooker as having told News of the World.

“Brian was saying how he had been seeing a new girlfriend for a few weeks." He added, I've got to go, she's picking me up. Then Elle turns up in her car. I couldn't believe it,” the onlooker added.

Aussie Man&Van manager John Hess last night said Burgess’ conviction was “all in the past.”

But now has come out and said it's all not true.

In a statement the 44-year-old model and mother of two emphatically denied any romantic association with Brian Burgess who was found of guilty of drug trafficking in Australia in 1996. He was deported to England after spending four years in jail and now lives in London where he runs a removal company, according to a flurry of press reports.

“Miss Macpherson is disappointed her friendship with Mr Burgess has been so casually misrepresented for commercial sensationalism. Furthermore Miss Macpherson has a reasonable expectation of privacy in relation to her personal life; in the absence of a romantic element, the publication of the photograph and the innuendo created by it is a gross interference of Miss Macpherson’s rights,” said the statement.

The statement said that Miss Macpherson was aware of Burgess’s past conduct and also that he has and continues to take significant steps toward restoring his life.

“Any continued misrepresentation or invasion of privacy is likely to be the subject of legal proceedings,” the statement concluded.

Well, that clears that one up.

Web search finds love down street

Teacher Julie McIlroy joined the online worldwide dating service Devil Called Love only to find love with a man who lived just seven houses down her street.

The 46-year-old skimmed through thousands of pictures of eligible men on the internet site. But then she spotted Allan Donnelly, 53, and was surprised to discover they both live in Cardiff and that their homes are just a few doors apart.

The couple, from Rhiwbina, are now planning their wedding next year.

Ms McIlroy, a mother-of-three, explained what happened: "I'd been a member of Devil Called Love for three months when I spotted Allan's picture.

"I thought he looked nice so I sent him a message and he emailed me back. We started emailing for a couple of weeks and I discovered that Allan was from Cardiff.

"Then I found out we both lived in the Rhiwbina area of the city - but even that's a big place."

It was not until they spoke on the phone two weeks later that she asked where he lived and they discovered they lived in the same road.

The pair had seen each other from a distance but had never met before.

"I was totally stunned," she said.

"It's an incredible coincidence but it just goes to show that you never know where you will find love.

"The dating website could have put me in touch with someone anywhere in the world. But happily Allan lives just a couple of hundred yards down the road."

The pair started dating and later went on holiday to Thailand and then to Cambodia and Morocco.

Amazing coincidence

Ms McIlroy said: "Things have gone from strength to strength - I couldn't be happier. Well they say love thy neighbour, don't they."

Father-of-two Mr Donnelly popped the question at a surprise birthday party he threw for his girlfriend at his home.

He said: "I had been on the dating site for a while when I hooked up with Julie. It was an amazing coincidence that we live so close to each other, What were the chances of that?

"But it was my lucky day - we've got the perfect compatibility. She's right up my street."