A mum has celebrated her divorce by trashing her designer wedding dress in a huge paint fight.

Anna O'Neill, from Denton, near Canterbury, married her second husband in an intimate ceremony on a beach in Antigua, following a whirlwind romance.

"We met locally and it was quite rushed," explained the 41-year-old.

"We met, moved in together, then got married in July 2017."

She bought a pink, Alexander McQueen wedding dress for £1,200 while on a trip to London with her son.

"I know it's not traditional, but I thought it's not going to be a traditional wedding and I loved the dress, so we bought it," said the former model, who is now a stay-at-home mum with one grandchild.

"We didn't tell anyone we were getting married - it was just us and my 11-year-old son.

"We came back, had a baby, and then divorced just before Christmas.

"It wasn't expected, but these things happen."

"It was a sad 18 months for me," added Ms O'Neill whose first husband, with whom she had three children, sadly died three years ago.

"All my friends kind of rallied around, looking after me."

This month, keen to thank those that helped her through a difficult time, Ms O'Neill decided to host a paint fight.

"I didn't have a hen party or any sort of celebration for the wedding, so it was that too," she said. "I just wanted to thank everyone who has been there for me.

"But the main reason for doing this was to inspire others to be positive and to celebrate everything.

"I wanted to do it for other parents going through divorce, which can be tough, and who are holding the fort together.

"The most important message is that things get better, and we can turn it around."

Donning her designer wedding dress, Ms O'Neill stood in her back garden as a group of her closest pals pelted her with paint.

"I filled up 12 Nerf guns with paint, and we had silver buckets full of different colours, and sponges and paint bombs.

"We counted down, and then just had a great big paint attack. It was brilliant.

"Then we had loads of food and drank Chapel Down."

Ms O'Neill now plans to clean the dress, and will donate it to a fundraiser for 13-year-old Lily Wythe, whose family and friends have raised hundreds of pounds so she can travel to America for a potentially life-saving brain tumour treatment.

She has already donated the £10,000 Versace dress she wore to her first wedding to Lily's family, to help raise money.

Since posting photos of her celebration online, Ms O'Neill says she has had an overwhelming response from other divorcees.

"So many have got in touch saying 'thank you, seeing this really lifted my spirits'. It's been lovely."

Photos are by Ian Lim. Visit his website at www.milianeyes.com or Instagram page at www.instagram.com/milianeyes.

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