Couple on cloud nine after Valentine’s Day helicopter proposal

LOVE really was in the air for a pair of lovebirds from Worthing this Valentine’s Day.
Alex and Katie pose by the helicopterAlex and Katie pose by the helicopter
Alex and Katie pose by the helicopter

Aspiring DJ Alex Ford proved the sky was the limit when he proposed to his long-term girlfriend – at 1,100ft up in the air in a helicopter.

Thankfully, he received an ‘ecstatic yes’ from his partner of nine years Katie Rogers, who said her new fiancé ‘makes her the happiest girl around’.

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Alex, 28, who lives with Katie in Crescent Road, said: “It is our nine-year anniversary this week, and because we have been together so long I needed to make a grand gesture and surprise her.

“All I told her was that I had booked a taxi to take us somewhere.

“She had no idea what was going to happen, she just thought it was a Valentine’s present.”

Alex had planned the proposal with the pilot from HeliFly, based out of Shoreham Airport, and he popped the question as they flew over the coastline coming into Worthing.

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The pilot was in on the planning, and had a bottle of champagne ready for just after the big moment.

But it did not go quite as planned due to the cramped conditions in the helicopter: “As I started proposing, I told her I had wanted to go down on one knee, but there wasn’t enough space, and that’s when she realised what I was doing.

“She had a big smile on her face, and she said yes straight away. She was ecstatic.

“Since we’ve told our friends and family about it, they’ve all said what a great idea it was.

“It couldn’t have gone better, really.”

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Katie, 28, a supervisor in the Southern Pavilion Café on Worthing Pier, said: “I still haven’t got over it – it was the most amazing day ever.

“I had no idea he was going to do it. He said we were going out for a surprise, but I just thought it was the helicopter ride.

“Alex has always been brilliant at doing lovely things for me, but he has outdone himself this time. I am the happiest girl around.”