Romantic engineer pops the question in the pumpkin patch

The romantic engineer, aged 27, had been searching high and low for the perfect time and place to pop the question to long-time girlfriend Natalie Edwards, also 27.

And he finally found it in the middle of a pumpkin patch at Essington Fruit Farm in South Staffordshire.

It was a pick-your-own-pumpkin day but Gary picked a wife instead.

He said: "I had spent a lot of time looking for the right location for the proposal. October is my favourite month because of the wonderful colours it generates and I have always enjoyed farms. When I saw the orange of the pumpkins dotted around the field I realised that was the final piece of the jigsaw.

See also: Crash driver proposes in police car.

"Fortunately I had bought the ring months earlier and was carrying it around with me for when I finally found the right time and place. So I went down on one knee and asked her to marry me in the middle of the field where we were the only two people at that moment. Natalie's face up lit up with the biggest smile I have ever seen. Now we plan to return to the spot regularly on the date she said yes."

Shop assistant Natalie declared: "I thought that he was never going to get round to asking me to marry him but it was well worth waiting for. I was overwhelmed. Like him, I love October with its warm colours and pumpkins are one of my favourite vegetables. I make a lot of soup with them but they will mean a lot more to me in future."

Essington Fruit Farm boss Richard Simkin said everyone there was delighted.

He said: "The first we knew of this was when Gary sent us a message of Facebook.

"He explained that he had come with his girlfriend to pick pumpkins and gone home with a fiancee. We gave him a call and had a good chat. They are a really nice couple and we all wish them much happiness in the future."