Craig pops towering question 150m in air

Craig and Katie up the Tower where he asked for her hand.

Twenty seven-year-old Craig decided to pop the question to girlfriend Katie Beard at the top of Blackpool Tower.

Many would find it daunting to ask “will you marry me?” at a height of 150m. But for Craig – an aircraft man in the Royal Air Force (RAF) – the towering proposal was all in a days work.

And the only butterflies Katie, 26, was feeling in her tummy were down to the romance of the occasion because she also serves in the RAF.

The couple met on an air force training course, but being stationed on different bases, are only able to see each other once a week.

So, Craig decided his proposal had to be a memorable one and he chose his favourite childhood holiday destination for the big moment.

Craig, from Hull, said: “I’ve always loved coming to Blackpool and it struck me that it would be the ideal place to propose to Katie.

“I suggested we go to the top of the Tower and when we were there, I asked her to marry me.

“I wanted somewhere we would remember forever and everytime the Tower is on TV we can say that’s where we got engaged.”

Craig is stationed at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire but Katie, also from Hull, works from other bases in England.

His mum, Julie, said: They only get to see each other at weekends or if they can both get the same leave, so Craig wanted to make the day as romantic as possible.

“We have always liked Blackpool, even when our camper van got clamped once on a weekend visit.

“They’re both in the airforce so the height wouldn’t have bothered them.

“Katie was thrilled when Craig proposed and the whole day was wonderful. We would like to thank all the staff at the Tower for making everything possible.”

Unusual marriage proposals

• In March 2012, Roger Taylor surprised his girlfriend Jeanie Jagpal during a night out in London. As they strolled through Piccadilly Circus a professional 100-strong choir launched into ‘Can’t Take My Eyes Off You’ by Frankie Valli, backed by over 200 dancers that Taylor had recruited via Facebook.

• Hector “Tank” Martinez, backed by 300 of his biker brethren, caused traffic on one of Los Angeles’ busiest highways to grind to a halt, just so he could propose to his long-term girlfriend

• In 2011, Matt Still convinced his girlfriend, Ginny, to go to the cinema one day. Then he arranged to play a fake trailer before the movie that chronicled his journey to the theatre to pop the question, with predictably moving results. At least no-one could say he didn’t put the effort in.

• Tax inspector Will Gull proposed to his teacher girlfriend Katie Crammer at South Woodford underground station, and staff and passengers cheered as she accepted. The couple later returned to the station in their wedding attire to thank Tube staff for the part they played in their romance.

The couple had first met five years previously on that very platform. Katie said: “But for that fateful Tube journey I might never have met Will, fallen in love and married him, so I am very grateful to London Underground.”