AS CLOCKS go, it is not the sort you would find gracing the displays at Harrods.But supermodel Claudia Schiffer clearly believes in the age-old saying 'It's the thought that counts'.

By Danielle Nuttall

AS CLOCKS go, it is not the sort you would find gracing the displays at Harrods.

But supermodel Claudia Schiffer clearly believes in the age-old saying 'It's the thought that counts'.

For when the German beauty was sent a BBC Radio Suffolk wall clock as a welcome gift to mark her arrival in Suffolk, she did not think twice about showing her gratitude.

The radio station received a thank you letter from the world-famous model, in which she revealed how happy she was living in Suffolk.

The letter, which was signed by Claudia, read: “This is just a short note to say thank you so much for the clock and press pack you sent to Matthew and me for our wedding.

“It was very kind of you to think of us. We really enjoyed having our wedding in Suffolk and we are thrilled to be living here now. It really is a beautiful county.”

The BBC Radio Suffolk clock – usually only reserved for competition winners - was with a subscription to the EADT's Suffolk magazine to Claudia and her film-producer husband Matthew Vaughn in May last year to help them settle into life in the county.

The couple own Coldham Hall at Stanningfield, near Bury St Edmunds, which was the venue for their lavish wedding reception.

They married in the church of St George's in nearby Shimpling and EADT photographer Michael Hall snapped the only shot of the bride on her big day outside her deal with a celebrity magazine.

BBC Radio Suffolk breakfast show presenter Mark Murphy said he was shocked when he received the thank you letter from Claudia, who is reported to have made an estimated £30million as one of the world's most photographed women.

“It was a while ago and a lot of people said she would be far too busy to write. It was quite a surprise when she did,” he said yesterday.

“It's nice to know she has time to do a thank you letter. She said Suffolk was a lovely place to live and she is absolutely right.

“Everybody was pleased and surprised because it has been a while and I guess she had a lot of presents to unwrap.

“It's nice to know she's happy in Suffolk. She hasn't rung our phone lines during a show yet but she is more than welcome.”