A ROMANTIC construction company owner from Monmouth employed his skills with a digger to propose to his girlfriend.

Chris Morgan, 30, wrote “Will you marry me?” on boards and filmed him painting on them with the digger, which he later showed to his bride-to-be Beth, 25.

He showed her the video – in which he prised a lid of a paint pot before picking up the paintbrush with the digger’s grab - at the Celtic Manor in Newport, where Ms Morgan, a primary school teacher, accepted. The couple have been together for seven years but have known each other for much longer, he said.

Mr Morgan, who runs DCM Roadways with his brother Dave, said he had collected boards and paint on his way to work last month to propose to his fiancée, who works at Cantref Primary School in Abergavenny.

He told the Argus: “I had a little impression of what would look good. I went to work one morning and painted [the boards] when I got to work.”

And of the video and the impression it has made online, he said: “It was just on Facebook. I put it on there because I thought it was something quite good but I didn’t think it would be like this.

“She was not expecting [the proposal] at all, she said. She didn’t have a clue.

And Mr Morgan said he is keen for his company’s diggers to have a prominent role in their wedding, which will take place next year.

He added: “The diggers are my pride and joy and I have grown up with them. The digger will be involved taking us to the church, it’s quite likely...the diggers will be involved.”