A football fanatic travelled nearly 4,500 miles in order to support his country at the World Cup... and get married at the same time.

Former Witham schoolboy Lee Burgess and new wife Laura, were married at a private ceremony in Tiptree on Saturday afternoon.

Scrapping the usual black tie dress code, the do was themed in order to support Gareth Southgate’s England squad - who are bidding to bring football home for the first time in more than 50 years.

The couple, who live in Florida, made the pilgrimage back to the UK just for the wedding.

Lianne Hayden, Mr Burgess’ niece, said: “He wanted to come back to England for the World Cup and so he strategically planned the wedding date for this time.

“So we decided we had to throw an England-themed wedding.

“It was a beautiful day and certainly very patriotic.”

The couple chose a fitting colour scheme for the celebration, with red and white clothing a must for all wedding guests.

Ms Hayden added: “Everything was red and white and he had a swig of whiskey at the end in a special flask.

“Afterwards we had tea and cake.

“Everywhere was draped in red and white flags and we had a DJ and karaoke after the ceremony.

“Afterwards we even played football.”

To make things even more special, the Burgess’ were even treated to the perfect wedding gift by Gareth Southgate’s men the day after - with England’s emphatic 6-1 victory over Panama.

Mr Burgess moved to the Sunshine State when he was a teenager, but grew up in Witham and is a former pupil of Bramston School.

The rest of the family still live in the area and around 60 guests came together to celebrate the couple’s big day.

Ms Hayden said: “The weather was gorgeous and it was all family members there.

“Lee is a huge Liverpool fan and has taken his new wife to visit Anfield after the wedding.

“It really was a beautiful day.”