He had been given his first mobile phone for his 18th birthday and had just discovered text messaging.

He made up a random number and sent off a message saying “hello”, to which his future wife Kirsty wrote back “hi”.

They said: “That single moment led to over 20 years of love, laughter, and partnership.”

Out of several messages to unknown numbers he sent from the Coventry pub where he was working that night, Kirsty in Cleethorpes was the only one to reply.

In 2002, the couple got married in Scotland, where Kirsty is from, and now have two children, aged six and nine.