IT was only after months of planning that the disaster dawned on bride-to-be Angela Glasper.

Her big day, which she had been planning since boyfriend Graeme Nobbs popped the question on St Valentine's Day, had no chance of running smoothly.

Instead of a quiet Saturday in September, she had inadvertently chosen the busiest day in the Peterlee calendar for her wedding.

September 2 is carnival day and a parade of floats passes close to her home, blocking the route to the ceremony at the town's methodist church.

Things looked grim for the 29-year-old, who met her Newcastle City Council worker husband-to-be in January.

He popped the question only two weeks later.

"We started making wedding plans straight away and the show never crossed my mind," she said.

"It was some time later after I'd booked the church that a friend of my mother just happened to mention that September 2 was carnival day."

In desperation, she turned to two of her local councillors, who agreed to approach the police to see if they could help.

And, when they heard of her predicament, the boys in blue were only too delighted to step in and make sure the bride got to the church on time.

PCs Christopher Bell and Mark Langridge provided a motorbike escort through the throng of carnival-goers, floats and juvenile jazz bands, to the church.

It ensured a delighted Angela reached the church promptly for the 11am ceremony.

Chief Inspector Dave Pickard, Easington division operations manager for Durham Police, said: "We were pleased to help out in what were quite unusual circumstances.