A ROMANTIC boyfriend took the plunge in more ways than one when he fell and broke his ankle on a romantic cliff top walk on which he intended to propose.

However the fall did not phase John Dardis from Bristol who still proposed to girlfriend Suzannah Newham while he lay on the wet ground waiting for the rescue services to arrive.

Newquay Coastguard were paged to assist Mr Dardis who had fallen and had a broken ankle on the coast path near to Mawgan Porth.

The team attended along with Cornwall Air Ambulance. The location of the fall was some distance from the nearest road, across several fields.

John and his partner Suzannah were located and his ankle placed in a vacuum splint and he was given pain relief. He was then lifted over the fence and transported by the coastguard to the waiting South West Ambulance Service ambulance and crew at the road.

A spokesman for the coastguard said: "John and Suzie are from Bristol and visiting Cornwall for the weekend. They decided to walk the coast path and John was intending a romantic proposal , however after slipping and injuring his ankle he decided whilst waiting for the emergency services that proposing there and then was going to be more romantic than a hospital bed! He then asked Suzie to marry him.We are please to report she said yes!"