Wedding car crashes outside church

A bridegroom married in agony and his elderly mum suffered a heart attack after their wedding car crashed just yards from the church.

Brian Ashton, 47, injured his back, leg and arm in the smash when the brakes on his white limousine appeared to fail.

His mother Maureen, 78, was rushed to hospital and was said to be `poorly' later last night.



The car carrying the pair, along with Mr Ashton's best man, sped up down the steep gradient of Long Street in Middleton and veered into a side road, crashing into a council work van and then into a wall near Middleton Methodist Church.

Bride Sarah Ward, 27, arrived in a separate car moments later and was stunned by the scene which greeted her.

She said: "I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Everyone was there for the wedding, so we couldn't cancel it, but we were worried about my mother-in-law and Brian stood through the service in pain."

With photo gallery.