After five weeks of wooing from four different countries, Sedbergh has finally found its new partner the Slovenian town of Zrece.

The Alpine spa town beat off fellow Sedbergh suitors Eymet, in France; Athienou, in Cyprus; and Seefeld, in Austria; to be declared the Dales town's twin on Wednesday night.

Sedbergh's search for a soulmate has been the focus of a BBC series, Twin Towns, which is due to be aired in January next year.

For the past four weeks prospective beaus' have sent ambassadors to Sedbergh to secure affections and immerse locals in their culture, but it was the show-stopping Slovenians who danced, sang and played their way into the town's heart.

Chairman of Sedbergh's Town Twinning Association Garth Steadman said the vote on Wednesday had seen 500 locals turn out to the ballot box at The People's Hall - more than the town's General Election turn out.

"The Slovenians were always so warm," he said. "They put on a fantastic concert during their week and got everyone involved. When we went to see them off there were tears they really got into people's hearts."

But as the camera crews who have stalked the streets for the past five weeks packed up, Sedbergh was preparing for life out of the limelight.

"It will be a bit flat when the crew leaves because we have been partying for weeks," he conceded. "It'll be strange to walk around the corner and not see a camera. But the whole thing has been fantastic, the events have been supported really well and we've all had fun."

However, as the winner was named there were cries of dirty tricks' from some corners.

Ambassadors for Cypriot town Athienou whose clarion call was vote for Cyprus, they drive on the same side as us' claimed they had borne the brunt of underhand tactics.

Marilyn McDonnell, who was championing the Cypriot cause, told the Gazette: "We put signs up on the road into Sedbergh Vote Cyprus' and the next day someone had put up a Vote Slovenia' in its place. There were definitely some dirty tricks going on but it was all good fun."

Twin Towns director Cal Turner said the filming had attracted a couple of naturals on camera.

"Alan Lewis Sedbergh School music teacher and Sandra Gold-Wood Westmorland Gazette correspondent are definitely two that the nation will take to their hearts. I wouldn't be surprised if they got their own show," she laughed.

The two towns will not be officially twinned until a delegation from Sedbergh goes out to Zrece later this year.

l Situated on the edge of the Alps, Zrece is close to Austria and Italy.

l Zrece is a verdant place of mountains and rivers, rolling hills and hot springs.

l The main focus of life is the outdoors. Popular pastimes include skiing, sledging, snowboarding, horse riding, golf, saunas and Turkish baths.

l Zrece is similar to Sedbergh but with a more developed tourism industry and a local economy based on the town's market.

l It is one of the largest manufacturers of grinding wheels in Europe.

l The capital of Slovenia is Ljubljana and the common currency is the Slovenian Tolar.

l Slovenia gained independence from former Yugoslavia on June 25, 1991 and joined the EU in May this year.

l Both beer and property in Slovenia are cheap by UK standards. A beer will set you back £1.19 while a five-bedroom Tyrol-style house could be yours for £20,000.