WITH only hours to live, John Gamblin was frantic to fulfil his dying wish to marry the love of his life.

As time tragically ticked away, nursing staff at the University Hospital of North Durham arranged the eleventh hour wedding of John and his beloved partner Eve Stockmann.

Eve, his partner of 15 years, had been bracing herself for the worst when she received an urgent call to the bedside of terminally ill John.

When she arrived, staff broke the bleak news that he had only a matter of hours left to live.

John, 72, the former publican of the Black Horse Inn in Waterhouses, near Esh Winning, had been diagnosed with terminal cancer.

The couple had talked about marriage on odd occasions, but Eve said they always came to the conclusion, 'why should us old fogeys get married?'

Eve, of Waterhouses, said: "When John was told he had hours left, he took everybody completely by surprise and said: 'well in that case I'd better arrange our wedding.'"

Medical staff launched into action, completing all the arrangements for the hospital's first wedding in less than six hours.

The ward sisters persuaded Eve to go home and get ready, while they rushed around getting the relevant documents and a registrar to preside over the ceremony.

Bride Eve said: "I was happy in my casual clothes, but the sisters insisted I went home and put a nice dress on."

When Eve returned to the hospital, plans were complete. The hospital staff gave Eve a posy, provided a button hole for John and paid the couple's registration fee.

They even organised a reception in his hospital room. Champagne and a hastily defrosted wedding cake were waiting for them when they returned from the chapel, along with a photographer.

In the early hours of Thursday, June 5, John died. The registrar who had married the couple just over 24 hours earlier, returned to the hospital, sadly this time, to fill out his death certificate.

Eve says she is eternally grateful to the nursing staff on Ward 5, who granted John's dying wish.

She said: "I can never express my thanks in words, I just want people to know how grateful I am.

"It made it easier for John to die, because the majority of people are frightened of dying and his mind was taken off it that day.

"People look at the wedding photographs and say we look so happy, and we were happy."