War-zone couple announce wedding

James Day and Natalie Savage will wed next February

Two soldiers who found love in war-torn Iraq are to marry on St Valentine's Day, they have revealed.

Lance Bombardier James Day, 22, from Manchester, saved his bride-to-be Gunner Natalie Savage, 20, from Teesside, from a mob of Iraqis.

Natalie, from Thornaby, had been thrown from a Land Rover driven by James after he hit a pothole on patrol in Basra.

Mr Day told the BBC: "We are planning for February around Valentine's Day. We are going to get married in Germany."

He said that everyone who was in Iraq at the time they met has been invited.

Ms Savage broke bones in her back in the incident, but as she lay paralysed, an angry mob gathered and began to kick her.

Hospital bed

Mr Day said that after the accident in Basra, in April last year, he realised he was falling in love.

He said: "I felt quite guilty. I was the driver at the time. I blamed myself. When Natalie was in the hospital bed, that's when it hit me. There was more to it than just a crush."

Ms Savage admitted that she initially thought her husband-to-be was a "womaniser".

She added: "But I fell in love with him. He brought me a teddy with 'I love you' on it. That bear went everywhere with me."

The couple, both in the Royal Artillery regiment, now have a two-month-old daughter, Paige.

Their regiment is based in Guterslogh, Germany, where they plan to live while serving in the Army.