An unsuspecting girlfriend received a surprise marriage proposal on the big screen, which was all captured on film.

Tom Welham, 28, a media lecturer at Colchester Institute, invited girlfriend Abby Howlett to the monthly Unseen Cinema night at Firstsite gallery.

But the seemingly low-key cinema date took an unexpected turn as Tom himself appeared on the screen with a declaration of love on the couple’s third anniversary since their first date.

The former University of Essex student said: "When I was thinking about proposing I was never going to go down on one knee in a restaurant because that’s just too normal."

Full story in today's Gazette