This is the beautiful moment a man proposes to unsuspecting girlfriend by planting note inside Cambridgeshire escape room

Martin Rooney, 23, spent weeks meticulously preparing to pop the big question to his partner-of-three-years Emma Littler.

Booking in a friend's name and sneaking there beforehand to put the note inside a box, he even got his sister to take Emma to get her nails done beforehand.

And when she reached down, unfolded the message and began to read, he was waiting behind her on one knee.

Train maintenance engineer Martin said: "Her face was a picture. She squealed a bit and then just ran at me.

"I can't really describe the feeling when she said yes. It was amazing."

Video footage taken inside the escape room shows Martin nervously pacing up and down, waiting for the right time.

When Emma's back is turned, he can be seen kneeling down with the ring in his hand.

The moment his bride-to-be turns around, Martin gets up and the couple embrace and kiss.

Martin added: "We went to Cambridge Christmas shopping.

"I told her I was going to find her a present but I went to the escape room to drop off the note and the ring box."

He stashed it inside a chest, with the note for Emma to read.

Martin from Southery, Norfolk, added: "I wanted it to come off perfectly and I was worried that something might go wrong.

"She opened the chest but was more interested in the final clue than the box where the note was.

"I was like 'What's that over there?', trying to get her back to it. Eventually she did and opened it."

The special moment happened at Lockhouse Escape Games in Cambridge on Sunday afternoon, and Martin praised the staff for helping him carry out his plan.

Martin added: "We managed to break the record of the escape room even after the proposal."

The couple, who have known each other since secondary school, had previously been to other escape games, where players have to solve a series of puzzles and riddles to find their way out of a room - usually in a limited time.

Emma, from Watlington, Norfolk said: "In one part of the escape room, you have to solve a code. I was more interested in that at first.

"Then I went back to it and there was a box. Inside, there was a note saying 'turn around Emma'. I did, and he was there, down on one knee."

The 25-year-old added: "I was so shocked and happy at the same time. I just said yes straight away."

Emma, an operations assistant at a shed manufacturer, said Martin's proposal "genuinely came as a complete shock", adding: "I'm just really looking forward to the wedding now."

They plan to tie the knot in 2020.