Penguin proposal

A zookeeper's boyfriend roped in her penguins to help him propose to her during their daily parade. Vicki Small, 23, said she was speechless when Kevin Venton, 27, went on bended knee and asked her to marry him at the Welsh Mountain Zoo.

Fluffy the penguin then walked on with a white gold and diamond ring in front of a big crowd at Colwyn Bay, Conwy. Miss Small was so astonished she did not say yes straightaway - but she soon did and the pair will marry next June.

The marriage proposal came during the afternoon bird show at the zoo.

"We were in the middle of the penguin parade when my colleague said over the commentary for me to step forward," said Miss Small, from Colwyn Bay. "Then Kevin went down on one knee in front of everyone and asked me to marry him. As he finished Fluffy - the penguin I helped to hand-rear - came on with the ring."

Miss Small said she had not accepted immediately because she was so taken aback.
"I just hugged him and he had to ask again," she said. "It was awesome and there must have been about 60 people watching the parade, and they all cheered, and people kept congratulating us during the afternoon."

Mr Venton, who lives in Mochdre and works as a sales manager at a plumbing centre, met his bride-to-be at church. He said the hardest part had been getting hold of telephone numbers for her colleagues to help him set it up, but he was happy with the end result.

"I got a yes, so I think it all went well," he said.