Newlywed Thomas Wardle carried his bride into their honeymoon suite - to find a naked couple romping on their bed.

Mr Wardle, 32, and wife Valerie, 22, say they had booked a £90-a-night bridal suite.

They were heading for the king-size bed when they were stopped short by an equally-horrified couple in the throes of passion.

The two couples stared at each other in disbelief for a few seconds before John, with Valerie still in his arms, backed out of the room.

The furious couple stormed down to reception to discover the hotel had double-booked the bridal suite.

To add insult to injury, the blushing bride and groom say they were shown to a basic room with a small bed.

Mr Wardle, 32, a support worker from Wallsend, North Tyneside, said: "We were only staying for a night, so I booked the best room, which included free access to all the facilities, a king-sized bed, a big television, flowers and champagne."

The couple were married at St Gabriel's Church, in Heaton, Newcastle, and chose to spend their wedding night in the Italiano Suite of the four-star Menzies Hotel, in North Shields.

Hotel staff claim the mix-up happened after their computers crashed leaving them unaware the room was double-booked.

Mr Wardle said: "It was a farce. They gave us a room for free, but that is the least they could have done for ruining our wedding night.

"I asked them if we could maybe stay for free for our first wedding anniversary, but they refused."

Jonathan Worsdale, operations manager for the hotel group, said: "The operations manager found them a new room and a bottle of champagne and gave them everything totally complimentary.

"The mix-up was caused by a computer error.

"Despite giving them everything for free, the couple later came back to us and asked for a free two-day stay at one of our hotels."