Fridge-carrying runner proposes during the London Marathon

A fridge-carrying runner kept an engagement ring wrapped in toilet roll before he proposed to his girlfriend during the London Marathon.

Daniel Fairbrother stopped at Big Ben to pop the question, with the 26kg (57lbs) fridge called Tallulah strapped to his back.

His girlfriend Hayley promptly said yes to cheers and screams in the crowd.

"It was the right time, it was a big stage, it was a big achievement and I thought, what better time?" he said.

Mr Fairbrother, from Stevenage, carried the home appliance on the 26.2-mile (42km) course around the capital to raise £10,000 for Diabetes UK.

'On cloud nine'

"Today's been tough, I'm not going to lie - and the only thing that got me through was knowing that Hayley was there waiting at Big Ben, oblivious that I would ask her to marry me," he told the BBC.

"I'm on cloud nine."

Daniel Fairbrother said he had been planning the proposal for some time

He revealed that he had wrapped the ring in toilet roll in his pocket, checking it at every mile.

"When I had Big Ben in my sights I pulled it out and the emotions took over," he said.

"I told her: 'When you find someone like you, who's happy to support me and encourage me to grow... I need to make sure that you're around'," he added.

"That's when I pulled out the ring and dropped to one knee."

Listen: When 'Fridge Man' popped the question

He said he was unsure Hayley would make it to watch as she had spent the night unwell in hospital.

"I'd been planning this for a while and, right at the last minute, I didn't think this was going to come off. It's put a real shine on the day."

Mr Fairbrother was stopped during marathon training in Stevenage by police officers who mistook him for a thief

Hayley told the BBC she was speechless and was "trying to come back down to earth."

"I was so emotional already seeing him running towards me. It was mile 25, he had literally almost finished the race. I could see he was struggling so for him to get down on one knee, I have no words."

She joked that Tallulah would get her own seat at the wedding.

Mr Fairbrother made headlines in January after he was stopped during marathon training in Stevenage by police officers who mistook him for a thief.

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