Eight organ transplant survivor Adam Alderson weds fiancée

Laura Blanchard and Adam Alderson were married in Hornby, North Yorkshire

A man who survived a multiple organ transplant has married his fiancée two years after being told he had just weeks left to live.

Adam Alderson had organs including his pancreas, stomach and spleen replaced after contracting a rare cancer.

The operation took a team of 30 people about 17 hours to complete.

Mr Alderson, 36, married his fiancée, Laura Blanchard, in Hornby and said: "After everything we've been through this is the icing on the cake".

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Mr Alderson underwent a 17-hour operation to replace eight abdominal organs

Mr Alderson, from Preston-under-Scar, near Leyburn, was diagnosed with pseudomyxoma peritonei in 2013 and at one stage was told nothing could be done and he was sent for end of life care.

But, after learning of pioneering surgery carried out on England rugby league player Steve Prescott he underwent the same procedure at Oxford's Churchill Hospital.

Mr Prescott died from complications three weeks after undergoing the operation but the same surgery was successful for Mr Alderson.

He is believed to be only the fourth person in the world to survive the operation.

Speaking after the ceremony he said: "I'm an emotional wreck today. I never thought we would see this day."

His wife, Laura, added: "We've been to hell and back, but it's what makes you really. It means the world to me and I'm absolutely thrilled."

Georgios Vrakas led the surgical team at Churchill Hospital in Oxford

Among the guests at the wedding was surgeon Georgios Vrakas, who led Mr Alderson's operation.

"It is probably the biggest operation someone can have today. It is a massive undertaking," he said.

"You have to really be fit and have the mental motivation to undergo this so, it's amazing to see that he's actually leading a normal life now."

The couple will celebrate their wedding by taking part in a 15,000 mile rally to Mongolia to raise funds for Macmillan Cancer Support and The Steve Prescott Foundation.