TERRY Cullen’s snoring was so noisy wife Tracy banished him to the spareroom 12 years ago.

But the Widnes couple, who have been married for 14 years, were finally reunited in bed after Terry was diagnosed with a breathing disorder and had corrective surgery at Warrington’s Spire Cheshire Hospital.

Terry, aged 40, had unknowingly suffered from sleep apnoea syndrome, a serious condition that can lead to chronic snoring and sleepiness during the day, since he fell off his bike aged five and damaged his septum.

He said: “From that point on I couldn’t breathe through my nose. I used to only breathe through my mouth and I didn’t know that this was wrong! When I got married the snoring was so bad that Tracy and I only shared a bed for two years.”

As a result of his childhood accident Terry’s mouth muscles began to overdevelop, especially his uvula, the small piece of soft tissue that dangles over the tongue.

This caused the dad-of-two’s airways to narrow and from then on he had a snoring problem that also meant sleep deprived nights for Tracy, son Louis, aged 12, and daughter Adrienne, aged 21.

Terry, who lives on Westerhope Way, added: “We live in a three storey-house and Louis would have sleepless nights even if I was on the top floor and he was at ground level!”

After much nagging, Terry visited his GP in January and was referred to ear, nose and throat (ENT) consultant Dr Krishna Reddy, who also works at Warrington Hospital.

Terry had surgery six weeks ago to trim his uvula and repair his septum and said: “Since then it’s been brilliant. I don’t snore anymore and my quality of life is so much better and that of my family. My snoring was having a really bad effect on all of them and I never realised how much.

“Our household dynamic is completely different now and I can’t thank Dr Reddy enough.”