As Canadian bride Jo Du put on her dress in the morning of her wedding day, something awful happened: the zip broke, leaving her unable to do it up.

As Jo and her bridesmaids wondered what to do next, wedding photographer Lindsay Coulter suggested visiting the next-door neighbours to ask if they had a pair of pliers.

A bridesmaid was duly dispatched to seek help – and made a fortuitous discovery. “She came back with a handful of tools and some interesting information,” wrote Ms Coulter on her Facebook page.

“The next door neighbour was hosting a family of Syrian refugees and the father was a master tailor and would be happy to help if we weren't successful.”

A few minutes later the neighbour, David Hobson, called round, bringing with him the tailor, Ibrahim Halil Dudu, and his son.

Mr Dudu and the boy had been Canada for just four days and, not speaking English, had been communicating with his hosts via Google Translate.

He set about fixing the wedding dress with his sewing kit, as Ms Coulter captured the moment on camera.