Broken-down Hampshire bus brides praise officers who rescued them

Two brides who got a lift to their wedding in a police car after their coach broke down said the officers who rescued them went "above and beyond".

Jemma and Sian Batchelor-Thomas were on the coach with 20 of their closest family and friends when it broke down in Hedge End on Saturday morning.

Officers gave the couple a lift to the ceremony in a police car while others accepted lifts from passing motorists.

They said, despite the stressful start to the day, everyone made it on time.

Jemma said: "It was a really intimate service so we booked the coach from the hotel where we were staying so everyone could relax and enjoy the journey.

"That obviously didn't happen because after 10 minutes we broke down.

"The guests thought we were joking.

"We had about half an hour to get to the registry office but we were still half an hour away."

Sian said, despite their predicament, the guests were "very cool, calm and collected".

She said: "One of the bridal party saw the police car and asked them if they could give us a lift."

Two strangers, who introduced themselves as Mark and Tash, also pulled over and offered a ride to Jemma and Sian's witnesses.

Jemma said: "Sian was very calm but I was extremely stressed - I thought 'this is terrible' but now, looking back, we can see the funny side of things.

"Everyone was just so kind and supportive - all the members of the public, the people who gave our witnesses a lift. There were so many nice messages from random people.

"Being a same-sex couple, that was massive - there were no negative comments, everyone was so supportive.

"It also shows that the police are there to serve as well as to protect the community. Rachel and Lucy [the officers] went above and beyond in their roles."

In a Facebook post, PCSO Rachel Barry and PC Lucy Stoneley of the Hedge End Neighbourhood Policing Team, said: "We wish them all the best for a very happy future together and are very happy that we could be there to help."

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