WHEN Andy Lythgoe proposed to his girlfriend Lindsey Goodman, he wanted her, and the whole of Bolton, to know exactly how serious he was.

The 34-year-old declared his love for her in spectacular fashion and popped the question to Lindsey on a 12ft high, 23ft long advertising billboard in the town centre.

And months of planning for the top secret operation paid off when Andy drove Lindsey, of Farnworth, to the hoarding, at St George's Road, where the "marry me" message was.

And Lindsey, aged 22, from Farnworth, accepted, and the happy couple took a limousine to their favourite Italian restaurant for a celebration meal.

An ecstatic and relieved Andy, who lives in Tonge Fold, said: "Lindsey is still in shock. She was stunned and speechless.

"I was down on one knee and she just kept nodding. I kept asking: "Is that a yes then?"

"I kept it secret from everyone and didn't tell anybody before she saw it. I showed my friends the day after and they thought I was mad, but my family loved it."

Andy's inspiration for the creative proposal came on his journey to where he works at Hopwood Hall College in Rochdale.

"I was sitting in the car looking at a billboard and thought to myself it would be a great way to propose," he said. "I contacted the billboard company, JCDecaux, and with their help my proposal was up in lights for a day."

"I've always known that when I proposed she would want it to be unique and romantic. I've never seen this done before so I thought it would be a daring way to propose that she would love.

"I was a bit nervous because if she hadn't said yes, there would have been no way of keeping it quiet", he said. "We've been talking and joking around about getting engaged for about six months now so I was 99 per cent sure she would say yes anyway."

Andy says he would rather not reveal the actual cost of his romantic gesture, but says: "It was definitely worth it."

The couple, who met when they worked at a Bolton paint factory, have been together for more than four years and plan to marry in August or September next year.

A spokesman for JCDecaux said: "We have only done one other proposal before, in Clydebank in 2002, and we are glad to say the girl accepted."