An Elvis impersonator is all shook up after he had the entrance to Graceland re-created outside his home.

Paul Priestley, 41, has been devoted to the late, great rock 'n' roll star since he was nine-years-old.

But now he has taken his devotion further, by having gates identical to those at Elvis's Memphis mansion put up at his own home in West Boldon, South Tyneside.

During one of his five trips to Memphis, the self-employed businessman became so enamoured with the entrance to the King's mansion that he enlisted the help of colleague Alex Mark to replicate the design.

Mr Priestley said: "No one else in the country has anything like these - they're a one-off.

"Ever since I was a little boy, I've always dreamed of one day having my own house, with a long drive and gates just like those at Graceland, and now I've got them."

It was back in 1970 that Mr Priestley first heard his sister playing The Wonder of You on the family's record player.

After school and college, he one day walked into a music agency in Sunderland, and asked if they had any work for an Elvis impersonator.

He left disappointed, but returned a year later and, armed with backing tapes and players, secured his first gig in Billingham, Teesside.

Mr Priestley said: "Since then, I've never looked back."

Still running his flooring business through the day, Mr Priestley has high hopes for the future.

He said: "When I was young, I had three main ambitions in my life - to run my own company, to have gates just like those at Graceland and to impersonate Elvis while my mum was in the audience."

On Friday, he fulfilled his final wish when, along with hundreds of others, his mother watched him perform at Newcastle's Opera House.