diff --git a/booking.helper.inc b/booking.helper.inc
index e6eec81..6b9fe6b 100644
--- a/booking.helper.inc
+++ b/booking.helper.inc
@@ -5,6 +5,10 @@
  * Helper function to perform some validity checking of email addresses
  */
 function _valid_email_address($email) {
+	
+	//strip any leading or trailing whitespace
+	$email = trim($email);
+	
 	//firstly use the built-in function to validate the format
 	if (! valid_email_address($email)) {
 		watchdog('booking', "Drupal validation of email address '!email' returns false.", array('!email' => $email));