Suffolk: Bride's Wedding Day Made After Getting A Free Pencil

23 August 2013, 09:35 | Updated: 23 August 2013, 09:57

A Suffolk bride has had her wedding day made after receiving two free pencils from Suffolk Police.

Deborah, from Lakenheath, told her fiancé Stephen Whitehead about a memorable visit to Suffolk Police Headquarters and it gave Stephen an idea for their big day.

In 1990, at the age of 8, Deborah wanted to become a police officer. She wrote a letter to Suffolk Police offering her services as a detective but her offer was declined. Instead she was given a tour of Suffolk Police Headquarters.

She said: “It was amazing. Myself and my cousin were picked up in a police car, we were shown the control room, given a tour of the police museum, got to sit on a police motorcycle and in a police car and had our fingerprints taken.

“The day was one of the most exciting days of my young life and topped off with a souvenir of a Suffolk Police pencil. It was my most prized possession, until one day on a school trip I dropped the pencil and it rolled through boards into the foundations of an Anglo Saxon house – I was devastated!"

Stephen decided to email Suffolk Police telling them what had happened 23 years ago and how it would make Deborah’s day if he could get hold of a pencil. In his e-mail he thanked the police 'for taking care of the county and for having made a little girl's day all those years ago'.

Julie Dennis, Community Safety Assistant at Suffolk Police, sent two pencils in readiness for the big day. She said: “We were delighted that we could help Stephen, it’s such a lovely story and we are so pleased that we were able to contribute, albeit in only a small way, to the happy couple having an enjoyable wedding day!”

On their wedding day in July, Stephen presented Deborah with the pencil in a long velvet box.

She said: “I was stunned and delighted. I’ve always thought the police are a good bunch who will be there for anyone in their time of need.”