TEACHER Anna Veitch got a sky-high birthday surprise courtesy of her long-term partner, North Tyne farmer Ian Robinson.

For last Saturday she was whisked off in a helicopter for an aerial view of the Robinsons’ farm, Bog Hall at Capheaton, and from the cockpit she could see a message from Ian laid out in the field below asking her to be his wife.

“It was amazing and a complete shock,” Anna said. “I had absolutely no idea about any of it.

“When we left the farm I thought we were going for lunch in Newcastle but we turned in at the airport and Ian told me he’d booked a surprise flight for my birthday.

“It turned out he’d used the aerosol spray he uses for the sheep to write ‘Will You Marry Me’ on some big bed sheets. Needless to say, I just cried all the way back to Newcastle Airport.”

Ian had even remembered to bring along an engagement ring in the hope Anna, who is a Year 5 teacher at Bellingham Middle School, would accept – which she did.

Anna swears she had no inkling about the quirky proposal, although she did wonder why Ian had bought quite so many spray paint cans to mark his sheep.

The couple, who have an 18-month-old son, Harry, are now starting to plan their wedding.