British soldier 'marries a pile of bricks'

A soldier serving with the British Army in Basra has 'married' his girlfriend - despite the pair being thousands of miles apart. And next week Lance Bombadier Joseph Lomotey will see his new wife for the first time.

The bizarre wedding ceremony took place in a tent in the Iraqi desert, where LBdr Lomotey, from Ghana, is serving with the Wiltshire-based 1st Regiment Royal Horse Artillery.

His comrades stunned him with the surprise service - made possible by Ghanaian law which allows couples to be apart on their wedding day if it is "physically impossible" for either to attend.



His girlfriend, 21-year-old Josephine Aggrey, who knew about the ruse, attended a traditional ceremony in Ghana.

A vicar officiated and she took her vows in the 'normal' way, with LBdr Lomotey's brother standing in for him and placing the wedding ring on her finger.

And at exactly the same time, the lads of 1RHA gathered in Basra - with a pile of bricks wearing a bikini as a makeshift Josephine - and held their own service. Sergeant Andy Hadrick, LBdr Lomotey's immediate boss, conducted the ceremony "complete with a dog collar and a grin".