A DEAF couple have tied the knot, exactly a year after the groom proposed on top of the Eiffel Tower, in Paris.

Jacqueline Barnes, 26, of Darlington, and Craig Jones, 32, of Middlesbrough, have been together for eight years, since meeting at a deaf club.

The couple were married at St Cuthbert's Church, in Darlington, on Saturday, in a service conducted by the Reverend Robert Williamson, and relayed in sign language by Tony Beckett.

Jacqueline works for the Deaf Youth Advisory Service in Sunderland, as well as in County Durham as a community development worker, raising deaf awareness in the hearing community.

Craig is the manager of the Deaf Centre in Hartlepool and the couple also do a lot of voluntary work, including helping run Middlesbrough's Deaf Club and being on the Friends For Young Deaf committee.

Mr Jones said last year had been significant for Jacqueline.

"First she got her degree, then she got the job in Sunderland, and then it was her birthday, so I decided to surprise her and take her to Paris.

"We went up the Eiffel Tower, and I thought the time was right to propose."

After the wedding, the couple invited 300 guests to a reception at their friends' house, in Neasham Road, Darlington, where a marquee was erected for the occasion.

The couple are on honeymoon in Cancun, Mexico.