A LEYLAND man is to marry a woman injured in the Omagh massacre after romance blossomed in the wake of the atrocity.

When Mark Blackwell, who lived in Leyland until two years ago, heard that Sandy Smith, whom he had met just once on holiday in Devon, had been injured in the Omagh bombing, he immediately packed his bags and jetted out to Northern Ireland.

Within 24 hours of Sandy being admitted to a County Tyrone hospital, Mark, 31, was at her bedside, where he has kept a constant vigil since.

Sadly Sandy lost her best friend in the bomb blast, which threatened to blow the peace process apart last summer. She is still recovering.

But thanks to Mark, she now has something to look forward to - he proposed to her on bended knee in the intensive care unit.

Speaking from Ireland, Mark, who has moved to the province and got a job there, said he knew he had to go out to the town as soon as he had heard what had happened.

He said: "I grabbed one change of clothes and my friends lent me the money between them.

"I only intended to stay out there for two weeks at the most.

"She was crying her eyes out all the time, making me feel helpless. I kept telling her that we had the rest of our lives to be together.

"I soon realised that I loved Sandy so much that I couldn't leave her."

Their wedding is now pencilled in for June 25, and will be conducted by Mark's father, priest Ken Blackwell, the former head of technology at Balshaws High School, in Church Road, Leyland.

Sandy says she hopes their story, a true tale of love conquering evil, will encourage other bomb victims.

Mark added: "We both have a lot of faith in God and we realised he was much bigger than everything that had happened, and he is working for our good."

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