A Grimsby Telegraph photographer got more than he bargained for recently when he went to take pictures of a group of Internet chatters who were meeting up for the first time.

To his surprise, Duncan Young realised that the group were the same people that he had been talking to over the Internet for nearly two years.

The community of friends had met through a chatroom on the Grimsby Telegraph's website.

Four of the chatters from Laceby in North East Lincolnshire were joined at their local pub, The Waterloo, by fellow friends including two from Hull, two from Ohio and one from Madrid.

And it was by sheer coincidence that Duncan had been assigned to take the photographs for the Telegraph, giving him the chance to finally meet his international friends.

Duncan said: "I just went there to take the pictures and when I found out their names, I realised it was the same group who I had been talking to for years.

"Some of them have gone home now but we plan to get back in touch to possibly meet up again."

Manager of the website, Nigel Lowther, said: "The Internet has made the world a much smaller place and has brought together people from a whole range of different interests.

"Thisisgrimsby is a small part of the web but significant for the community which originate from this area, and it is lovely to hear of another success story."

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