A romantic man proposed to his girlfriend by having a giant picture of her engagement ring carved on their favourite beach. George Smith, 28, secretly hired an artist to create the drawing before surprising long-term girlfriend Rachel Hunter, 25. Drone video captured the moment Rachel spotted the 50ft carving of a diamond ring which was engraved into the sand at King Edward’s Bay in Tynemouth. Inside the ring were the words: “Rachel, will you marry me? GHS”. George then got down on one knee and proposed to Rachel before presenting her with the one-carat diamond ring last Thursday (4/8). George said: “I wanted to do something special for the proposal at King Edward’s Bay which is our favourite beach. “I contacted beach artist Claire Eason to copy the ring I’d bought Rachel so she would see from the cliff path. “Everything had to be timed to perfection because there was only an hour window for me to get Rachel to the beach before the tide came in. “I was panicking and worried we’d get to the beach just to see the design get washed away. “When we got to the spot above the beach I told Rachel to look at the sand art and when she turned back around I was on one knee holding the ring. “She was really taken aback and luckily she said yes. “We went down to the beach and people were cheering and the bar on the beach was belting out ‘Love Shack’. It was a really special moment.” Beach artist Claire, 57, spent three hours etching the giant ring into the sand before texting George to arrange the surprise proposal. She said: “George wanted his proposal to Rachel to be unique and memorable and he contacted me to see I could help. “He had a beautiful ring ready and we based the design on that. “King Edward’s Bay is their favourite beach and a dramatic backdrop to pop the question. “George revealed the design high on the cliff top and proposed on one knee there. “Rachel said ye and everyone on the beach cheered and a warm fuzzy feeling was definitely palpable.” George and Rachel, both solicitors who live near Tynemouth, plan to get married in the summer of 2024.