A YOUNG woman had a surprise when her boyfriend proposed to her at a shark tank.

David Oinn, 18, arranged the surprise for his girlfriend Kelly Fitton, 20, at Weymouth Sea Life Centre yesterday.

The proposal at the Lodmoor attraction came on the Weymouth couple’s two-year anniversary.

Diver Fiona Smith jumped into the shark tank holding a sign saying: ‘Of all the fish in the sea, you’re the one for me Kelly.

‘Will you marry me? Love David.’ Miss Fitton, a shop assistant, said yes and the happy couple posed for pictures in front of the tank. She said: “I feel speechless, I’m really happy.”

She added: “I didn’t realise – I was looking at the fish.”

Mr Oinn, who works at the Spyglass Inn, Weymouth, said the couple had both been to the Sea Life Centre with their families when they were children and he thought it would be a great place to propose.

He said: “My friends were talking about it and they had seen someone propose like this on the internet, and thought it would be cool to do it.

“I had thought before that it would be great to see if they could do something like this.”

He added: “I feel better it’s all done. I don’t have to hide anything.

“We’re really happy.”

Mr Oinn wanted to thank the staff at the centre for their help and also his family and friends.

After the afternoon’s excitement the couple said they were going to enjoy a quiet evening and a glass of champagne to celebrate. Staff at the centre worked across the weekend to organise the surprise.

Head of operations Johnny Campbell said that he and the general manager Craig Dunkerley had been in the Spyglass Inn when Mr Oinn approached them.

He said: “We pulled out all the stops to get it done.”

He added: “It was great fun and it’s fantastic to see it all come together.”

The Sea Life Centre has seen one other proposal when a couple got engaged at the penguin enclosure. Steve Archer popped the question to Trina Williams with the help of feathered friends at the site.

l Yesterday also saw the beginning of European Shark Week, an awareness-raising initiative to promote conservation organised by the Shark Alliance.