Pedalo prank proposal almost goes pear-shaped for pub landlord in Majorca

It was a romantic pedalo proposal which almost went horribly wrong.

A pub landlord’s plans for a romantic proposal to his girlfriend almost sank without trace.

Anthony Woan came up with the idea to pop the question to his girlfriend of three years, Kim Clayton, in their favourite holiday spot, Majorca.

Imaginative Anthony, who is landlord at The Flying Dutchman in Padiham, wanted to hire a pedalo and pop the question with a ‘fake’ ring that he would ‘accidentally’ drop overboard. And while Kim looked for it he planned to get down on one knee and propose with the real McCoy, a solitaire diamond ring.

Anthony and Kim are hosting an engagement party in October and plan to tie the knot in Majorca in 2028placeholder image
Anthony and Kim are hosting an engagement party in October and plan to tie the knot in Majorca in 2028

He said: “I was looking for a cheap ring to act as the decoy but couldn’t find one anywhere, and when we got to the beach there were no pedaloes.”

Dad of three Anthony was undeterred, so he came up with another, rather cheeky idea, by attaching the engagement ring to the tie string on the waistband of his shorts. He added: “I asked Kim to put some sunscreen on me and while she was doing that I asked her to pull the string from inside my shorts as my hands were covered in sand.

“Her face was a picture when she saw the ring, she just started smiling, and I got down on one knee and asked her if she would do me the honour of becoming my wife.”

Anthony and Kim at the recent Padiham's Strongest Man competition which Anthony organised and took part inplaceholder image
Anthony and Kim at the recent Padiham's Strongest Man competition which Anthony organised and took part in
I will! Anthony Woan, landlord at the Flying Dutchman pub in Padiham, saw his plans for a waterbound proposal in Majorca to girlfriend Kim Clayton scuppered when there were no pedaloes for hire. He quickly formed another plan to pop the question and Kim said 'yes'placeholder image
I will! Anthony Woan, landlord at the Flying Dutchman pub in Padiham, saw his plans for a waterbound proposal in Majorca to girlfriend Kim Clayton scuppered when there were no pedaloes for hire. He quickly formed another plan to pop the question and Kim said 'yes'

Kim, who is 41 and has one daughter Amy (19) accepted and the couple, who met when Kim went into the pub with a mutual friend, are hosting an engagement party at the Dutchman in October with a Majorcan wedding on the cards for 2028.

Anthony said: “We’ve already started saving up, we wouldn’t want to get married anywhere else. We go to Majorca every year, it’s our special place.”

Related topics:
News you can trust since 1886
Follow us
© 2026 Iconic Media Group Ltd. All rights reserved.Cookie SettingsTerms and ConditionsPrivacy notice