TO LAG AND TO HOLD
Charles Bronson weds soap star bride Paula Williamson in wacky ceremony inside Wakefield jail after being driven in by a lookalike of the hardman
PRISON hardman Charles Bronson wed his soap star bride in a wacky ceremony behind bars today - but he WON'T get to consummate the marriage.
Former Corrie actress Paula Williamson was bundled into Wakefield jail under a purple cloak after a bizarre procession through the town led by a Bronson lookalike and a woman on a mobility scooter.
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Britain’s most violent prisoner, 64, — who has spent the past 41 years in prison — was handcuffed to a warder for the strictly controlled two-hour ceremony witnessed by just five guests.
Afterwards he was led back to his cell while his bride and family and friends partied in a nearby hotel. Paula, 37, will head to Malta for their honeymoon without her new husband.
Paula emerged from the prison under a ghostly white shroud on top of her purple cloak, ensuring her dress was almost completely hidden from view.
She was then smuggled into the York House Hotel through a side door to continue the celebrations with friends and family - who had their phones confiscated as she has reportedly sold picture rights to a newspaper.
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Preparations got under way this morning as a pal hand delivered Bronson's suit in a white cotton bag at 10am.
At lunchtime Paula was bundled from the hotel — her princessy white dress visible under the cloak — into a silver-blue Mercedes with the words "Just Married" in letters strung on the rear and ribbons on the front.
Bronson lookalike Timothy Crowley drove her to the jail where pals shielded her as she signed in at the visitor centre before she was driven into the prison forecourt shortly before 2pm.
Crowley, 49, said he was due to be a witness inside but prison chiefs claimed they had not received the correct paperwork.
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He said outside: "I was in a visit with the two of them and you can quite see what she feels for Charlie and the connection is there.
"Are they in love? I'm under no illusion to think anything different. She lives and breathes him and vice versa."
He added Paula is working "tirelessly" to secure Bronson's freedom, adding: "He has been a naughty boy, we know his misdemeanours, but he has gone 14 years over his tariff.
"There is definitely another side to him, he has got a very big heart. I feel for the man, I truly do."
Outside the hotel was a second car, a black Saab convertible with the words "Free Charles Salvador" — the name he uses now — emblazoned on the bonnet and side.
And a swinging metal sign was etched with a Bronson's heartfelt plea discouraging youngsters from a life crime like him.
He said: "If you follow my footsteps you're following a madman so think. It's a road to hell. Don't do it."
Today's wedding was be the first time Bronson has worn anything but a prison-issue tracksuit in 25 years.
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Paula, who has also appeared in Hollyoaks and Emmerdale, wore a fairy tale white wedding dress despite tying the knot in such unromantic circumstances.
The pair, pen pals since 2013, met face-to-face for the first time a year ago and are already planning to have a baby together, despite Bronson not knowing when he will be released from jail.
Meanwhile, the wacky invitation sent by Bronson to wedding guests can be revealed.
The invite includes a self-portrait as well as a tribute to his bride which reads: “Paula’s not just a wife, she’s my saviour”.
There is also a tribute to his heroes Ronnie and Reggie Kray: “The Kray twins would be so proud of me”.
And a typical Bronson joke: “Humpty Dumpty never fell - I pushed the fat lazy b*stard.”
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A pal said: “This is typical Charlie. He loves drawing and loves a joke.
“He appears besotted with Paula and has described this as the ‘Wedding of the Century’.”
A pal said yesterday: “Charlie and Paula have been waiting months for their wedding and every single detail has been planned to a tee.
“They know a lot of people think the wedding is just for publicity but they insist they love each other.
“Charlie sees the wedding as a chance to convince parole bosses that he has turned over a new leaf and is ready to be released.
“They talk a lot about what they are going to do when he gets released, but for now they are just looking forward to being man and wife.”
Paula Williamson denies engagement to Charles Bronson is a publicity stunt
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Charles Bronson fiancee Paula Williamson shows lag what he's missing in racy video
Armed robber Bronson has spent 41 years behind bars, including 37 in solitary confinement, after a string of brutal attacks on prison guards.
Paula, who previously exchanged letters and gifts with Moors Murderer Ian Brady, began writing to Bronson in 2013.
She told Nick Ferrari on LBC on Friday: “We would love [to spend our wedding night together] but obviously that’s not going to happen with where he is now.”
Third time lucky for prison pen pal romeo
CHARLES Bronson has been married twice and engaged once before he met Paula.
He wed first wife Irene in 1971 before divorcing five years later.
Women’s shelter worker Fatema Saira Rehman became his second wife in 2001. They divorced four years later.
In 2015, he proposed to then-girlfriend Lorraine Etherington, 44.
Lorraine, pictured, described him as the “most wonderful gentleman I’ve ever met”.
But their relationship broke down in early 2016, before Paula Williamson caught his heart that autumn.
They were pen pals from 2013 but only met face to face a year ago.
Bronson was first jailed for seven years in 1974 for armed robbery but after being released, found himself locked up again for planning another robbery.
Since then, he has seen his sentence increased to an indefinite term following a number of incidents where he took prison staff hostage.
In 2009, his incredible life story was even plastered across the big screen as Hollywood A Lister Tom Hardy portrayed him in biopic Bronson.
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