Kind strangers save stranded bride's wedding day

Paige Lawson was on her way to her wedding in a campervan with her mum Cat, her dog River and her best woman when the vehicle suffered a mishap

A newly-wed couple has told how their Devon wedding was saved by the kindness of strangers after the bride's ride to the venue broke down.

Paige Lawson, 28, was on her way to her Plymouth wedding to Steph Lawson, 37, in a Volkswagen campervan (VW), when the wheel fell off the van and rolled down the road.

Standing at the roadside in tears, Paige and her mum Cat were rescued by a florist in her van, while her dog River and best woman were driven to the venue by a man in a van.

Paige said: "It was amazing - we would have been too late without them - they genuinely saved the day."

Paige and Steph Lawson were able to marry in time

Paige said the saga unfolded after a family friend volunteered his campervan to help her fulfil a "lifelong dream" of riding in surfer style to her wedding.

On the way from their home in Estover, Plymouth to Pier One on the Hoe, The VW, she said, started making a "weird noise", indicating what they thought was a flat tyre.

"Then we heard the biggest bang and metal on metal," she added.

When the vehicle came to a stop, Paige said she saw a fellow motorist "rolling a wheel back up the road".

"I'm in the middle of the road, in my dress, with my bouquet, waving my arms about to get someone to stop - there were tears in my eyes and I could hardly see," she said.

Paige and Steph Lawson have said thank you to the kind passers-by who saved their day

Eventually passing florist Catherine Scawn "twigged" what was happening and she and her husband David offered to take Paige and Cat to the wedding.

"I don't think there is any way I can thank them enough for what they did. Without them I wouldn't have been able to get married."

After the wedding, the brides tracked down their heroes to thank them for their kindness.

Ms Scawn said: "Hopefully it didn't spoil her day too much and she can look back at it and laugh, that on the way, the wheel literally fell off".

Meanwhile, Steph said she thought her bride-to-be was "winding her up" when she called to explain the delay - before realising she was genuinely stuck.

"I am very very grateful - we would have been too late had it not been for the lifts, they did genuinely save the day."