Brides get ‘hitched’ thanks to police escort to wedding venue
The coach carrying the wedding party broke down on the way to service in Southampton, Hampshire.
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Two brides had a wedding to remember when they were given a lift to the service by police after their coach broke down.
Jemma, 35, and 36-year-old Sian Batchelor-Thomas were travelling from Shirrell Heath, Hampshire, when the coach carrying them and 20 guests broke down near to Hedge End.
As the couple started to panic that they would miss their time-slot for the service, a friend managed to wave down a police car and the officers offered to drive the brides to the service at Westgate Hall in Southampton.
Jemma, a youth worker, said: “We announced to our guests that we had broken down and they immediately thought we were joking, ‘Pull the other one, yeah sure we’ve broken down’.
“We were like ‘No, honestly we have’ and I started to panic and my now-wife was very calm, she’s a nurse and used to dealing with crisis situations and we all got off the coach.”
She said that all the family members started to arrange taxis and for friends to pick them up but they were running out of time to get to the service in time.
She continued: “The police were just passing by and one of our close friends stopped them and said “Would you possibly be able to take two brides to their wedding?’
“They said ‘Yeah ok then, we will help you guys out’, so everyone else was waiting for Ubers and lifts.
“A couple called Mark and Tash, they very kindly offered to take the witnesses and Sian’s mum just out of the kindness of their heart.
“And everyone did manage to get there in time, just.”
She added: “It really was amazing, we really didn’t expect them to be so open to transporting but they were really lovely, really professional, kept us calm.
“We had a really pleasant experience but just not the one we hoped for. It’s a bit different to what we expected.”
PCSO Rachel Barry and PC Lucy Stoneley of the Hedge End Neighbourhood Policing Team, posted on Facebook: “We wish them all the best for a very happy future together and are very happy that we could be there to help.”
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.