A Worcestershire builder's bride-to-be looks likely to be walking up the aisle alone after her other half was jailed for two months for jumping naked into a fountain during a drunken stag night in Slovakia.
Stephen Mallone, 25, flew into Bratislava for their
Bratislava stag weekends on 25th May determined to make merry with his chums. According to the Telegraph, "they spent the following day drinking heavily before Mr Mallone peeled off his clothes and jumped into a fountain by the American embassy".
Two coppers duly dragged him from the water feature and slapped on the cuffs. Police apparently told him he'd be released the following day once he'd sobered up. However, within hours he'd been "fast-tracked" through the courts and hit with a two-month jail sentence.
Mallone has already lodged an appeal, but since he may have to wait ten days for a hearing, it seems probable the wedding is off. His fiancée Kerry Stokes lamented, "I miss him so much and just wish he was right here by my side. It's absolutely mind-boggling. I am struggling to take it all in and it has made an already stressful time even worse. He was just messing about by thesounds of things, it's such a shame. We're supposed to be getting married next Friday but we still don't know if it's going ahead or not."
This isn't the first time something of this sort has happened, with stories of a
stag weekend in Prague resulting in the same result, while police in South America often take it as a deep offence if you jump into their fountains. With many of these monuments representing some form of religious figure, tourists can very easily offend locals.
Mallone's parents Susan and Chris have flown to Slovakia to mount a rescue operation. The Foreign Office and his MP confirmed they were "offering assistance", but a FO spokesman said although British consulate representative "had visited Mr Mallone to offer advice and support", there was pretty much nothing they could do.
The planned nuptials, due to take place at Tenbury Church, Worcestershire, have cost the couple a cool £20k, with 250 guests expected from across Europe. Stokes, 22, put a brave face of things, vowing to hit the town this weekend for her hen night. She said: "I stayed here, I think it's for the best. I've still got wedding arrangements to make. We've planned a huge wedding and I'm determined it will go ahead, either on June 15 or later."