A bride and groom who had waited 17 years to get married were almost thwarted by a bomb scare just moments before they tied the knot.

Jose Villamizar had proposed to long-term partner Jodi Bostock through the pages of The Argus on Valentine's Day.

But, as the couple were reciting their vows at Hove Town Hall register office on Saturday, the wedding party had to be evacuated after a phone call was received claiming there was a bomb in the building.

Jodi, 37, and Jose, 44, of Carisbrooke Road, Brighton, were forced to put their special day on hold as police searched the building. After waiting for almost 20 minutes, the call was confirmed as a hoax and the wedding resumed.

Jodi said: "We were about a third of the way through the service when somebody burst into the room and asked us to leave the building.

"I was obviously a little bit worried there might be a bomb in the building, but apart from that I felt fine. There was nothing we could have done about it so we just had to go with the flow.

"In my heart I was already married to Jose but I felt relieved when we could go back and finish the service. Now I feel over the moon."

The couple met 17 years ago, but, despite having two daughters, Thais, 16, and Danniella, 14, Jose had never popped the question until The Argus gave him a helping hand.

He placed a message in the paper which read: Jodi, you are my world, will you be my wife?

For their daughters, who were bridesmaids, the wedding day was a long time coming.

Danniella said: "We were in on the surprise when Dad took out the ad in The Argus, so we have been involved every step of the way. It felt very weird to see them get married and it was even stranger when we were told there may be a bomb.

"To us, they have always been married."

Deputy superintendent registrar Kay Hill, who married the couple, said she has never had to suspend a service in the middle of the vows. She said: "We had no choice but to stop and get out of the building. We could not put people's lives at risk. Nothing like this has ever happened to me before, so I didn't know what to expect."

The wedding party, including Jose's parents who had travelled from Venezuela, enjoyed a reception at the Imperial Hotel in Hove.