THE sound of the bagpipes conjures up many images -- but never, perhaps, that of an Asian wedding.

That, however, is where the traditional Scottish instrument was heard when a special appearance was made by a member of Accrington's pipe band.

As the bride, Ubeada Begum and the bridegroom, Shafiq Rehman arrived for the ceremony at the Daneshouse Youth and Community Centre in Burnley, guests were greeted with a stirring rendition of Scotland The Brave.

Inside the building, the piping continued as the men at the wedding were treated to performances of Caledonian favourites including Flower Of Scotland, The Scottish Soldier and The Black Bear.

Guests were enthralled as Chris Halstead belted out the favourites.

Chris, of Barrowford, said: "I have played at a Sikh and Catholic wedding in Liverpool, but this is the first truly Asian wedding I have done.

"The kids loved it.

"I think that it went down well.

"After all, they have pipes in the Pakistani and Indian armies," he added.

The idea of having a piper at the wedding was that of Scottish entertainer John Murdoch, who has been friends with the bridegroom's father Shamur Rehman for 15 years.

"It was John's present to the family and it seems to have been well received.

John said: "It is the first time I had ever been to an Asian wedding, but I thought it would be nice to show that people in the town do get on."

John was resplendent in traditional Scottish dress at the wedding. His outfit included sporran and kilt -- but John would not reveal if there was anything underneath.

"I'm not going to say what's underneath because in this cold weather it could well be a pair of long johns!".

So what did the guests make of it? Fifteen-year-old Monawar Yumas travelled from Crawley for the wedding and was impressed by the piper.

He said: "It's was a great wedding and the piper was different. It made a nice change and I think that everyone liked it."

His friend Faheem Rahman travelled across the Pennines from Bradford to be at the wedding.

He said: "He was all right at the start but he went on for a bit.

"It was something good, a break from tradition.

"It's been a good wedding.

"The food, the music and everything has been great."

There are no plans for any further appearances for the piper at Asian weddings but Chris says that invitations will be welcomed.