AN EX-SOLDIER and his bride, whose wedding celebrations ended in tragedy, are appealing for help following the death of the bridegroom’s mother.

Frazer Mataitonga, who fought in Afghanistan with the 1st Mercian regiment, and Victoria Reeves, an NHS worker, were married on Saturday afternoon at St Mary’s Without-the-Walls church in Handbridge.

En route to the ceremony, Frazer’s 58-year old mother Agnes, who had travelled more than 10,000 miles from her home in Tonga for the celebration, was taken ill.

Victoria, of Westminster Park, said: “We were told that she had fainted and hoped she would return, so we decided to go ahead with the ceremony.”

In fact, Agnes had suffered a massive heart attack and sadly lost her battle for life in hospital on Monday evening.

On the wedding day Victoria’s dad Philip left Agnes, her husband Amos, their pregnant daughter Mary Ann and her daughter Christine in the care of doctors while he raced back to the church to give his daughter away, poignantly carrying the wedding rings that Agnes was looking after in her handbag. The couple’s seven-month old son Theo was ring bearer.

Following the service, the newly-weds and their guests travelled to Chester Racecourse for their reception.

But the distressing news that Agnes was now in intensive care meant the couple and Frazer’s brother and best man William, left immediately to dash to her bedside, driven by Victoria’s brother James.

Victoria said: “Frazer went in to the reception and made a short speech and then we left for the hospital, where we stayed with Agnes, still dressed in our wedding clothes.”

In a cruel twist of fate, the couple’s bedside vigil was interrupted by a call from Victoria’s parents to say that Theo was struggling to breathe and had to be taken to hospital.

Victoria said: “He had a cold but was otherwise well but he had got much worse.

“We got him into the paediatric unit and spent our second night at the hospital between there and the ITU.”

Theo was diagnosed with a chest infection and was discharged on Monday.

The couple and Frazer’s family, who were not insured for the journey, now face a bill of up to £20,000 to repatriate Agnes’s body to her native island in the South Pacific and pay for the funeral, at which 2,000 mourners are expected.

Victoria said: “Our bank account is empty after the wedding and paying for Frazer’s family to fly here.

“Frazer’s father said something very moving when Agnes passed away. He said: ‘We have lost a Mrs Mataitonga and we have gained a Mrs Mataitonga’.

“We need to get Agnes back home. It would be an absolute devastation if she was not buried there. She was so well-loved in Tonga and people are already saying prayers for her in church.”

Chronicle readers will recall a much happier time for the couple, when Frazer made a very public proposal to Victoria during last year’s Chestival screening of the film Gladiator at Chester Amphitheatre.

They met three years ago in Chester, when Frazer was here for an inter-army rugby match.

They started living together following Frazer’s eventful seven-month tour of Afghanistan, where he was injured in an IED (improvised explosive device) explosion and then shot.

Speaking yesterday, in tribute to his mother, Frazer said: “She was the best mum ever and I would not have achieved what I have done without her.

“She was an inspiration.”

If you can help Victoria and Frazer in any way contact Victoria on 07980 816644 or email mataitonga@hotmail.co.uk.