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A loving husband with dementia couldn’t remember the day he got married - so he proposed to his wife all over again.

Donald and Margaret Kerr have been together for 26 years and married since 2009, but Donald’s condition means he suffers severe memory loss.

But one thing he has never forgotten is his love for Margaret - and he decided to show it in the most perfect way possible.

The couple have “married” all over again in a romantic renewal ceremony, surrounded by friends and family and the dedicated carers who help Donald, 86, with day to day life at Brookfield Nursing Home in West Kirby.

The couple met in Spain in the early 1990s but only married in 2009 in Falmouth, Cornwall when Donald’s health began to deteriorate.

Donald was diagnosed in 2008 with vascular dementia and glaucoma, which has now left him with limited vision and severe memory loss.

The former journalist and TV producer, who has worked for Radio Merseyside and Granada Studios, suddenly asked his wife to marry him exactly 26 years to the day after they first fell in love, on Easter Sunday.

Margaret said she was completely overwhelmed when Donald popped the question all over again.

She said: “Donald asked me to marry him when I reminded him that we’d been together for 26 years and he said ‘will you marry me’ and I, of course, said yes.”

The renewal ceremony was held on Friday, May 4 at the nursing home, where Donald has lived since last year.

Margaret arrived at the ceremony to the music Sailing By, which is often played before the Shipping Forecast on Radio 4, and was chosen to reflect the couple’s “great love” of sailing - a theme which ran throughout the ceremony.

The 62-year-old added: “It was just the happiest day. I can’t remember being so happy for a long time.

“I walked in and Father Peter [the vicar who officiated at the ceremony] was there. I felt like a young bride.”

Donald’s deteriorating health had taken its toll on Margaret, who said she had sometimes felt like there was nothing to hope for in the future.

She said: “I had been in a deep depression for a year and there just didn’t seem to be anything to look forward to.

“I was here, every day, for five hours and I’d go back to this little retirement flat on my own and I thought, ‘is this how it’s going to be?

“And suddenly, things changed.”

Margaret added: “We were supported by everyone here [at the nursing home]. I came out of this depression, and especially after Donald asking me to marry him again, it’s been wonderful and we’re going to keep good things happening now.”

On the day, the guests were treated to a buffet, including a trifle decorated in the style of a stormy sea with a boat on top.

David from Brookfield Nursing Home, who helped Donald on the day, said: “Everyone at Brookfield loved taking part in their special day.

“The music and prayerful atmosphere helped jog memories for so many of our residents, their families and the friends of Donald and Margaret.”

When asked how he felt about renewing his vows, Donald simply said: “Never again, we’ve done it!”.