Some would say Stuart Baxter's ideas for a marriage proposal were a bit pie-in-the-sky.

The 35-year-old had a banner-trailing plane fly over a castle to ask girlfriend Kirsty Ryder to marry him - and it worked.

And he didn't stop there: he also hired an owl to deliver the ring.

The couple, of Bogarde Drive, Wainscott, are joyously preparing for the big day after emotional scenes.

It comes only six months after they lost their first child, Skye, while she was still in the womb.

Stuart, a general manager at Masterbuild Plastics in Strood, said: "I wanted it to go from being one of the worst things that could happen to two people to being one of the happiest things possible.

"Also she's been nagging me for about a year - every time we see her friends it's 'can we buy a hat yet'!"

Kirsty and Stuart's first date three years ago almost never happened after her car broke down at Strood's Medway Valley Leisure Park.

The couple, who met on a dating website, sat in Frankie and Bennys waiting for a recovery truck instead of seeing a film.

The big moment on Sunday happened at Leeds Castle, where the couple also met a falcon called Sky, pictured.

Kirsty, 37, who works for schools marketing firm The Education Company in Strood, said: "I knew something was up because his phone kept going off.

"It was just so exciting. When you see your name up there on a plane and everyone looking I had the biggest smile on my face.

"I jumped straight to Stuart and said ‘yes!’. I couldn't stop holding him and kissing him."

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