HAVING had a passion for trucks since he was a child, there was only one way for John Francis to travel to his wedding reception.

Mr Francis and new wife Lyndsay rocked up to their reception at Hereford’s Starlight Rooms in a 44-tonne truck – donated by friend Phill Preece, who owns a transport company in the county.

The couple tied the knot in Cyprus on May 27 but decided to continue the celebrations once back in the county with family and friends.

Mr Francis, who works at Hoople Ltd, said: “I have a passion for trucks and it turned out my wife had spoken to Phill Preece and said – ‘I know he has a passion for trucks, how about taking us to the reception in it?’.

“This was all sorted last summer. I later had a brainwave and thought it would be really different to get a truck to take us to the reception – but she said no.

“I dismissed it but told her to think about it as I thought it’d be a cracking idea and was something totally different but she kept trying to put me off.”

Eventually Mrs Francis told her husband it had already been arranged.

On the day of the reception, June 14, the decorated truck picked up the couple and their flower girl, three-year-old daughter Izzie, from their Lower Bullingham home and took them for a short spin around town.

“It was brilliant. People were double taking us in traffic and there were quite a few guests waiting for us to arrive.

“We had taken the ribbon round to him and he decorated it all. I think he has done school proms before but think this was the first wedding.

“I just have a thing about these vehicles – in a different life maybe I would’ve driven one all the time. It goes right back to being a child. It was brilliant.”