A CAT-LOVER got more than she bargained for when a special Christmas treat turned into a marriage proposal.

Kelly Carr, of Rawdon Road, Maidstone, was delighted when her boyfriend, Stuart Janes arranged for her to be keeper for the day at the big cats enclosure at Howletts Wild Animal Park, near Canterbury.

But Mr Janes, 30, had another more romantic surprise up his sleeve and just as Miss Carr was about to feed the tigers, he proposed.

He had told her that the trip to the zoo was a Christmas present from his parents. Playing keeper for a day had been one of Miss Carr’s lifelong ambitions.

During the morning she was told by the head keeper that they had to move two tigers from one enclosure to another, but when she got there Mr Janes was waiting for her.

He produced a ring and asked her to marry him, and after she had got over the shock, Miss Carr, 29, accepted.

She said: “I immediately burst into tears. I had been told that the day at the zoo was a Christmas present, I had no idea that it had been a fix-up and Stuart was planning to propose.

“Of course I said yes, I was absolutely stunned but it made the day even more amazing and memorable.”

The couple ,who have been together for seven years, plan to tie the knot in Italy next year.

Miss Carr, who owns the beauty salon Escape, in Boxley Road, Maidstone, said: “I am still in shock, It was the most amazing day of my life and this was just the icing on the cake.”