A PAIR of lovebirds braved swine flu to get hitched in Mexico.

Trudi and Stephen Mowle, of Towse Close, Clacton, only learned they had arrived in the heart of the pandemic after touching down on the last UK flight into the country.

They arrived in Cancun on April 26, unaware that swine flu had already taken hold in the capital, Mexico City.

But the pair were determined to get hitched.

Mrs Mowle said: “We nearly didn’t get married because the wedding co-ordinator did not think we were going to be there.

“Everyone knew about swine flu before us and we were in the middle of it. We kept getting emails asking if we were OK.

“By the second week it was a ghost town – everyone had left.”

The pair were confined to their resort and had to cancel trips as the whole country shut down for five days. Even travel between areas was banned.

Despite the panic, the pair said they never even considered returning home early.

Mr Mowle stayed in touch with his brother via e-mail, getting information about the spread of the virus and reassuring friends and family.

He said the change in the resort was unbelievable as tourists rushed to escape.

He said: “Your heart goes out to the Mexican people.

“We could feel the tension, and the Mexicans were not giving much away.

“We did not know, but we were on the last plane to fly out.

“No one knew what was going to happen with the five-day shut down, but I did not think we’d call the wedding off because we’d been waiting for so long.

“It was a bit of a nightmare, but after all the panic we did get married, and we had a brilliant service.”

On their wedding day, which they had planned for nine months, the pair arrived by horse-drawn carriage and had a ceremony on the beach, witnessed by two close friends.

They said although it might not be most people’s idea of a romantic trip, they had no regrets about taking the last plane into Mexico.

Trudi said: “I think God was looking down on us on that day.”