EVERY bride's wedding day is special but when Beverley Hodgson tied the knot on Saturday it was that bit extra special.

Beverley, 33, of Delves Lane, near Consett, battled against leukaemia as a youngster and her wedding was something that neither she nor her family thought she would live to see.

Her marriage to furnace worker Colin Rainbow, 29, of Tantobie, should have been held at Consett Methodist Church a fortnight ago but had to be postponed when Colin was rushed to hospital because he was on the verge of slipping into a diabetic coma.

Beverley, who was diagnosed when she was five and underwent chemotherapy and drug treatments that have left serious stomach problems, has 'died' once and been on life support three times.

Beverley said: "It is a miracle. I didn't think, and neither did my family, that this day would come.

"Two weeks ago when I should have got married my fianc ended up in intensive care. He caught a bug and was in hospital three days.

"He didn't quite go into a coma but if he had been any later going into hospital he would have."

Beverley, who met Colin five years ago in Delves Lane Victoria Social Club, has raised money for the battle against leukaemia and also liver disease - she has cirrhosis as a result of her treatment.

Beverley's mum Dorothy, who lives opposite her in Delves Lane, said: "It went off really well, it was lovely. We never though we'd see the day."