A STUNNED girlfriend was left on cloud nine after her daredevil partner proposed to her high above the ground on a flight over Southend.

Ben Holloway, 38, had kept tight-lipped about his plan to propose to Lisa Matthews, 31, from a light aircraft for weeks.

The commercial manager arranged the surprise flight so Lisa could see her home village of Ashingdon from the air – moments before he made a bold romantic gesture.

After waving Lisa off at Clacton Aero Club, in West Road, Clacton, Ben boarded another aircraft.

As his plane pulled up alongside, he popped the question with the aid of cards emblazoned with: “Will you marry me?”

Ben, who has been with Lisa for two years, said he was on an aerobatic flight over Southend with his girlfriend last year when the idea of making a sky high proposal occurred to him.

He said: “I discovered that Clacton Aero Club was open during the winter months and asked the staff if they could help me arrange a proposal in the sky.

“The staff were a little surprised, but I managed to arrange the proposal.”

Keeping the proposal a secret proved to be quite difficult for Ben on Christmas Day. As he had already booked the flight and bought a ring, he gave Lisa small presents and clues.

Ben, who moved to Chelmsford recently with Lisa, said: “One of the clues I told Lisa was that I was taking her somewhere around 60 miles away from our house.

“She was adamant that I was taking her on a trip to Colchester Zoo, and did not have any inkling of where I was really taking her.”

When the pair arrived at the airfield, Lisa thought that Ben had bought her a solo flight experience around Essex. She took off on an aircraft alone, leaving him on the ground.

He said: “I boarded an aircraft a fair way behind her flight and as we approached Canvey our planes caught up and mine turned and pulled up alongside Lisa’s and I asked her to marry me on cards I made.”

During her flight, Lisa enjoyed birds-eye views of landmarks such as Southend Pier and the cliffs, as well as her mum Karen’s home in Ashingdon.

Once back on the ground, Ben got down on one knee and placed a ring on Lisa’s finger and presented her with a bouquet of roses and a bottle of champagne.

He said: “It was a great experience and the club was really helpful for arranging it.”