A PRIMARY school teacher was flying high after her boyfriend proposed over Darwen Tower.

May Otley couldn’t believe it when she saw what the white letters near the historic monument read as she enjoyed a ‘pleasure flight’ with partner Alex McDade.

And now the pair, of Oakmere Close, on the Oakdale Estate, are busy planning for their wedding after the St Cuthbert’s Primary School teacher said ‘yes’.

Alex had plotted for some time to make sure the proposal was a complete surprise.

The aircraft fitter at BAe Systems in Warton told May they had won third prize in a raffle, a pleasure flight from Blackpool Tower.

May, who has a daughter Ashleigh and sons Ryan and Adam, said: “There were fake tickets and everything. It had all been fixed.

“I really didn’t want to go because I was scared, but they made me sit at the front.

“The pilot asked if we wanted to fly over our house, and I said ‘yes, it isn’t far from Darwen Tower’.

“As we approached the tower I could see these white letters, made from bedsheets, then when we got close and I could read them I couldn’t believe it.

“All my family and friends were there as well. I had no idea.”

May said ‘Moo’ was her nickname, stemming from her friends calling her ‘Maisie-Moo’.

Alex, who was born in Darwen and moved back to the town to live with May, said: “It was an absolute nightmare to plan.

“It is really hard to surprise someone and I kept having to do things like hiding the phone.

“On the day I was really nervous because it could all have been ruined by the weather or the clouds.

“I was so relieved it all fell into place.”

Alex and May met at a party of a mutual friend two and a half years ago.

May said: “We started chatting and I thought he was really funny.”

Alex said the pair had already started planning their big day and were hoping to set a date for some time next year.