A top jockey who cheated death when he suffered an horrific fall during a race has married the nurse who brought him back to health.

Scott Taylor, 31, could not hide his joy when he said "I do" to pretty Theresa Lishman, 26, at a plush ceremony in Prime Minister Tony Blair's Sedgefield constituency in County Durham.

And scores of racing's famous names - including jockeys Tony Dobbin and Richard McGrath - helped fill the 100-strong guest list for the wedding which might never have happened.

Scott suffered severe head injuries when he fell while riding Te Akau Dan in a novice chase at Perth, Scotland, on August 20, 1999.

It was touch and go whether the rising star of racing would ever pull through as he lay in a coma.

But, eventually, after several months in hospital, he was considered fit enough to move into a purpose-built bungalow paid for by the Injured Jockeys' Fund in his home village of Fishburn, near Sedgefield, where he required 24-hour care.

Nurse Theresa Lishman was appointed his paid carer, and within months the pair had fallen in love.

And this week the pair tied the knot during a touching ceremony at the Hardwick Hall Hotel - on their son Geoffrey's second birthday. Delighted Theresa said: "It's the best day of our lives.

"When I was appointed carer for Scott, it was a a 24-hour-a-day, seven days a week job.

"The agency I worked for sent other carers, but Scott wouldn't have anything to do with them.

"We got on really well and Scott asked me to marry him about five times, but I was always a little scared of marriage. Then I eventually proposed to Scott and I wouldn't have done so if I thought he wouldn't say 'yes'.

Former jockey Peter Waggott was Scott's best man.

Scott added: "Theresa was the prettiest nurse who looked after me and I love her so much."

The racing community rallied around to support Scott after he damaged the core of his brain in the fall at Perth and was unconscious for several weeks.

Jockeys carried out collections for him at racecourses across Britain and arranged numerous fundraising events, including a charity football match at Spennymoor and a cabaret evening at Chilton, County Durham, to help him.