A former Wallington pupil who proposed to his girlfriend after crossing the London Marathon finish line said he only got through it ‘because he pictured her at the end’.

Nick Edwards, 27, from Redhill, Surrey, stopped a fake post-race interview near The Mall to get down on one knee and propose to his girlfriend of two years, Sally Gerrish on Sunday, April 23.

With the engagement ring in hand the former Bandon Hill Primary School pupil told announced he could only picture the rest of his life with her.

He said: “I only got through this because I pictured you at the end and the only way I could picture getting through the rest of my life is if you’re with me.

“Will you marry me?”

‘Yes’ she replied, before a stranger bought them both a glass of Champagne to celebrate.

After he popped the question Mr Edwards, a teacher at Poplar Primary School, said he was worried his fiancé, also 27, might find out about his plan.

He said: “Nothing in my school is secret, everybody was asking me about it after I knew I was going to do it. Sally used to work at the school as a learning support assistant and there was a lot of people and planning involved, so I was afraid she was going to find out.”

“It was really lovely when I came back to school afterwards though. The deputy head put a video of the proposal on during assembly and that was really nice.”

Mr Edwards, who also attended The Beacon School in Banstead, confessed he did not consider himself to be the romantic type when he discussed his wedding plans.

He added: “It’s my pitfall as a young man that I’m not really the romantic type. I saw that someone did the same thing last year and it might have been in the back of my mind when I got the idea. In the end it was a special moment.

“We’re looking to get married sooner rather than later, probably next year. We love each other and we want to settle down and start a family. All the articles will be something great to share with our children when we have them.”

 Mr Edwards ran the marathon for charity Sense that supports children who are deafblind.

To find out more about the organisation visit its website here.

Nick Edwards, 27, from Redhill, Surrey, stopped a fake post-race interview to get down on one knee and propose to his girlfriend of two years, Sally Gerrish.

With the engagement ring in hand the former Bandon Hill Primary School pupil told Miss Gerrish, also 27, announced he could only picture the rest of his life with her.

He said: “I only got through this because I pictured you at the end and the only way I could picture getting through the rest of my life is if you’re with me.

“Will you marry me?”

‘Yes’ she replied, before a stranger bought them both a glass of Champagne to celebrate.

After he popped the question Mr Edwards, a teacher at Poplar Primary School, said he was worried his fiancé might find out about his plan.

He said: “Nothing in my school is secret, everybody was asking me about it after I knew I was going to do it. Sally used to work at the school as a learning support assistant and there was a lot of people and planning involved, so I was afraid she was going to find out.”

“It was really lovely when I came back to school afterwards though. The deputy head put a video of the proposal on during assembly and that was really nice.”

Mr Edwards, who also attended The Beacon School in Banstead, confessed he did not consider himself to be the romantic type when he discussed his wedding plans.

He added: “It’s my pitfall as a young man that I’m not really the romantic type. I saw that someone did the same thing last year and it might have been in the back of my mind when I got the idea. In the end it was a special moment.

“We’re looking to get married sooner rather than later, probably next year. We love each other and we want to settle down and start a family. All the articles will be something great to share with our children when we have them.”

Mr Edwards ran the marathon for charity Sense that supports children who are deafblind.

To find out more about the organisation visit its website here.