Good Stonehouse Samaritans came to the rescue of a bride-in-need on Saturday after her car broke down on the way to her wedding.

Wearing her wedding dress, Liz Fussell, born in Berkeley, was being driven to her hometown in her father’s red 1986 Fiat sports car adorned with ribbons and bows when it suddenly stopped on the A419.

No less than eight passers-by offered their help, with one volunteering to drive to Leonard Stanley and fetch an expensive Mercedes so the bride could still arrive in style.

“I hope I didn’t appear rude by declining their offers, I was just in a panic mode and I’m really grateful that so many people stopped at helped and I hope I said thank you to them properly,” said Liz’s father Richard Overton.

Richard had driven from his home in Berkeley to collect Liz from Stonehouse at 11:15am and take her to St Mary’s Church for 12:30pm.

“It was going very well all the way to her house. I picked her up, drove to the end of the road and it was idling quite nicely waiting to turn right out of the estate - and it just stopped,” he said.

A kind stranger helped Richard push the car onto the curb before he attempted a fix.

“I’d tried getting it going again and again - I started to get a bit panicky.”

“An hour is a long time in principle but when you’ve got a panic on it’s no time at all – especially when you’ve got to wait for the RAC or a taxi to turn up.”

Fortunately, family friends Roger and Mariam Martin, from Thrupp, noticed the bride’s car on their way to the wedding.

“It was a great relief that they turned up having spotted us,” said Richard.

“It was excellent, it went really well after that.”

The bride arrived at St Mary’s with just 10 minutes to spare before the wedding began, where she was married to Tom Fussell.

“I was proud, she was beautiful,” said Richard.

“It was a very good service from the vicar and an enjoyable reception afterwards at the Wool Barn at Frampton, who really laid it on thick.”

The red Fiat didn’t make it to the ceremony, instead sitting on the curb opposite the Stonehouse Court Hotel which happened to be holding a Wedding Fayre that day.