Derbyshire nurse surprised with marriage proposal on shift

Tony surprised Lena at her workplace with a proposal after 19 years together

An A&E nurse has been surprised on shift with a marriage proposal from her partner of 19 years.

Lena Plawecki was working at Chesterfield Royal Hospital when Tony Clarke appeared dressed as a Navy officer complete with flowers.

The couple had already planned their wedding for later this month but had done so without a proposal.

Ms Plawecki, who once got a hammer from her partner as a gift, said it was the most romantic thing he had ever done.

The couple had already arranged their wedding for this month without an 'official' proposal

The 56-year-old nurse from Renishaw, Chesterfield, said they had talked about marriage last year, during the height of the coronavirus pandemic.

"As an A&E nurse, people were dying all around me and Covid got me thinking about things I perhaps wouldn't have thought about before," she said.

"I'd had a particularly bad week at work and I said to Tony we need to get a will should something happen to one of us.

"And when talking through it they kept saying 'it would be easier if you were married' so we thought let's book a wedding then and that was it.

"It wasn't very romantic, there was no proposal.

"I have never mentioned wanting a proposal before so this was a shock."

'Unromantic'

On Monday, Mr Clarke, 54, dressed as the character played by Richard Gere from one her favourite films, An Officer and a Gentleman.

"He's not very romantic at all," added Ms Plawecki. "So this was totally surprising.

"For Valentine's Day, and even in the early days, I would get presents like a hammer or spanner because he said they were more useful than a bunch of flowers."

The couple, who have been married before and have two kids each, will tie the knot at Bakewell Register Office on 13 November.

They then travel to the Maldives for a honeymoon, which is a holiday they already had booked from last year.