IT was the wedding that hid the heartache.

Bikers Debs Collins and Tim Neale had smiles from ear to ear as they tied the knot to loud cheers and whistling from friends and family.

Laughter filled the autumn air as the happy couple emerged from Southamp-ton Register Office and were showered with bag after bag of confetti.

Yet this was a wedding day that could easily have been overshadowed by sadness.

Just six weeks ago, Tim was diagnosed with terminal cancer.

The couple, who were already planning to marry next year, decided to bring the big day forward after doctors admitted they did not know how long Tim had to live.

And on Saturday their race against time paid off when they celebrated the happiest day of their lives.

After the service, a beaming Tim, 38, said: "It has absolutely blown me away.

"People have been brilliant; there are so many people to thank. It is incredible. Some people we haven't known for long, yet everyone has rallied round. The day has been just perfect."

Debs looked stunning in a beautiful white dress with a fitted lace top and full skirt bought, appropriately, from a Cancer Research Campaign charity shop.

"We couldn't have done this on our own. It has restored my faith in human nature," she said.

The sun shone as the keen bikers sped off on the back of a Yamaha trike for their reception at their local, the South Western Arms in St Denys.

Friends had decorated the unusual wedding transport with white ribbon, complete with rattling cans tied on the rear.

Although they couldn't afford a honeymoon, the newlyweds were treated to a wedding night at the Star Hotel in Southampton by best man Steve Dixon.

Debs, who worked at an Evesham food factory before the pair moved to Southampton in February, was given away by long-standing friend Rob Cluett.

Rob, 40, with whom the couple live in Priory Road, St Denys, said: "It has been a very emotional day for everyone.

"I was honoured to give Debs away. I have been a bit choked but the only tears have been ones of joy. Tim is a smashing guy. I can't say enough nice things about them really; they suit each other so well."

Tim's parents, Jenny and Chris McGuire, travelled from their home in Henley-on-Thames for the happy occasion.

Jenny, 56, said: "We are so thrilled they have been able to make it. This is what has been keeping Tim going. It has meant such a lot to him."

Chris, 61, added: "Tim has been unable to leave the house to organise everything so the support of his biker friends has been just incredible."

Friend Leesa Betteridge, who met Debs when the pair worked in a local video shop together, was among those who paid a crucial role, helping to alter the bride's wedding dress with some net curtains and old petticoats.

"The register office was superb," she said. "We didn't have a slot but they swished us in between ceremonies when we told them about the circumstances.

"Debs is a great girl and has remained so positive through all of this. Everyone is really pleased for them both."

Tim, an engineer for BD Marine at Shamrock Quay in Southampton, is continuing with chemotherapy treatment after being diagnosed with small cell carcinoma - cancer of the skin which lines the internal organs of the body.

The newlyweds will soon be moving to a flat in the Millbrook area.