TROUBLED pop star Amy Winehouse will be made to feel at home if she decides to move to a picture-postcard Suffolk village, locals said.

John Howard

TROUBLED pop star Amy Winehouse will be made to feel at home if she decides to move to a picture-postcard Suffolk village, locals said.

The Grammy-winning singer is reportedly planning to buy a £750,000 country retreat in a village near Stowmarket - a property that boasts seven bedrooms, three sitting rooms and a conservatory.

It also includes three acres of land, stables and a garage for five cars and a detached barn in the grounds that could be converted into a top-notch recording studio.

The singer-songwriter has battled substance abuse and her husband, Blake Fielder-Civil, is soon to be released from jail after serving a term for grievous bodily harm and perverting the course of justice.

It is thought Winehouse, whose hits include Rehab and I'm No Good, may be hoping to escape her troubles at the country retreat.

Mid Suffolk is already home to many celebrities including former Rolling Stone Bill Wyman and culinary queen Delia Smith and locals in the village that Winehouse has her eye on said it would be the perfect haven for her.

The landlady at the village pub said: “We have heard that she has definitely bought here. If someone famous lives here or in the surrounding area then they are treated the same as everybody else.

“We have a few celebrities living around here and people will just let her get on with her life.”

David Cockburn, a director of Paul Wright estate agents at Stowmarket that specialises in properties in the Mid Suffolk area, said: “The villages locally are gorgeous and offer an oasis, real community life and a spirit unspoilt by modern life.

“And they are within easy reach of the A14 and intercity train service to London. If Amy is coming to this area, then she has chosen well.”

Tim Passmore, leader of Mid Suffolk District Council, said: “People are attracted to the heart of Suffolk. “We have a village way of life, and market towns like Eye and Stowmarket, and a landscape that has not changed dramatically in years in a very endearing part of the countryside.

“There are some outstanding beautiful areas, we are near the coast and not far from the city.

“We have a low crime rate, which is important. There are cultural opportunities, historic areas, good schools in both the independent and state sector.

“The Suffolk way is to respect people's privacy and that will attract people. A lot of celebrities live here and people are left to get on with their own lives.

“We tend to take people as they are not because of who they are, that's a very positive characteristic of the area.

“You put all those things together and add the fact that most people here let others get on with their lives, then why would Amy not choose to make a home here?”

The singer's father, Mitch Winehouse, has been reported in the national press as being in favour of the star's proposed new country home.

FACTFILE: Village life for Amy?

The stunning mid Suffolk village the singer is rumoured to have chosen, which the EADT is not naming to respect her privacy, is still very much a community.

The village enjoys a gorgeous heavily beamed historic restaurant and pub, a village shop, playing fields, stunning church and river with some beautiful thatched cottages and historic homes.

The parish church is stunning in the centre of the village in a commanding location and the area is surrounded by beautiful open fields and farmland.

It is also within easy access of London by rail - on the intercity line - or via the A14 and there is an airfield within easily travelling distance, which 24-year-old Back to Black star Amy could use to fly in and out whenever she wanted.