ROMANTIC housewife Jennifer Joy sleeps for only two hours a night so she has time to read as many Mills and Boon novels as possible.

Mrs Joy, 57, of Walker, Newcastle, reads up to four of the romances a day and her home is groaning under the weight of the books.

She is selling 2,000 of her novels for £99.50 because they have taken over a bedroom in the home she shares with her husband, Martin, 53.

Mrs Joy, who has a part-time job in a social club bar, has collected more than 2,000 Mills and Boon novels in less than four years at a rate of 14 every week.

Her modest bookcase is unable to cope and the books are crammed into drawers, piled high in her wardrobe and stacked against walls.

She said: "I would read the back of a bus ticket if there was nothing else available. Mills and Boon books are escapist and they help me pass the time."

Mrs Joy, a mother-of-three, said: "I do most of my reading at night so my husband still gets to see me.

"I would prefer to stay up reading rather than sleep.

"It is the only way I can find time to read all the books I want to."