KATH Gleaves got the surprise of her life when she turned up at a "Beatles Revival Night" only to discover it was her own 40th birthday party!

The mum-of-two was looking forward to the event and even "bought" two £5 tickets for herself and husband Andrew.

Little did she know Andrew had organised the printing of the tickets and the KFBC Enterprises, featured on the tickets, was actually short for Kath's Fortieth Birthday Celebration.

Kath, of Westland Avenue, Heaton, said: "I was completely taken in. I bought tickets for the event from my sister-in-law and had no reason to doubt I was going to a concert."

Husband Andrew, 31, had gone to great lengths to ensure Kath, a financial planning consultant, did not find out about the party.

When they met friends in Bolton town centre, a week before the party, Andrew hurried them along, and if she picked up the telephone to talk to a pal he was hovering nearby to hear what was being said.

Kath said: "But I never suspected a thing."

Panic started to set in on Friday night when Kath was due to be getting ready to go out. "I was taking the dog out for a walk at seven o'clock and we had to be out of the house by half past seven.

"I wasn't really worrying too much because I thought I could get ready quickly. I popped a little bit of make-up on but didn't fuss too much because I thought it would be dark and no-one would see me at the concert."

The "concert" was being held at Ladybridge Hall in Heaton and even as they approached Kath still had no idea what was going on.

"It had been arranged that we would park on one car park and all the guests would park on another, but I never guessed a thing."

As they walked into the hall Andrew handed their tickets in and then pushed Kath ahead of him.

"I wondered why he was pushing me and then I suddenly spotted everyone. I was very surprised , shocked and thought it was absolutely fantastic."

About 90 friends and family turned up to celebrate with Kath.

Andrew, a senior project manager, was described by his wife as a "true romantic".

She added: "He's wonderful but I can't believe that he managed to keep the party secret."

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