Sidecar racer proposes moments after finishing TT

Sidecar driver Alan Founds proposed to his girlfriend Karla Saunders

A sidecar racer at the Isle of Man TT surprised his girlfriend with a marriage proposal moments after crossing the finish line at the event.

Alan Founds had just completed the three-lap race when he got down on one knee to ask Karla Saunders to marry him.

He said the couple from Cheshire had been together for seven years and "were always destined to get married".

The racer made the proposal while being interviewed live on Radio TT and listeners heard her reply: "Of course I'll marry you".

Alan Founds and Colin Smyth finished 11th in the second Sidecar TT race

The driver had just finished in 11th place in the three-lap Sidecar TT race two on the 37.73-mile (60km) Mountain Course alongside passenger Colin Smyth when he popped the question.

It was a race that saw his brother Peter Founds take second place with his passenger Jevan Walmsley.

'Teammates for life'

Speaking afterwards, the racer said the proposal had "been on the cards for a while" and he felt the "time was right" at the end of the race.

Instead of a ring, the competitor presented her with a "lucky lollipop" that had been given to him by his son before the race.

"I raced around the three laps with this lollipop tucked into my leathers," he said.

It was "luckily still intact" at the end of the race so he got down on one knee to make the surprise proposal.

Ms Saunders said she was in "massive shock" but the pair would now be "teammates for life".

"The whole of parc ferme was cheering... it was amazing," she said.

"I can't stop smiling and I can't let go of this lollipop," she added.