Couple light up Blackpool Tower in UK's largest baby gender reveal

A couple have found a unique way to discover the gender of their baby with family and friends - by lighting up the Blackpool Tower.

In what is believed to be the UK's largest gender reveal to date, the tower lit up pink and the child's name-to-be, Harperleigh Jade Easton, also ran through the tower's heart symbol.

Mum-to-be Amberleigh Duckworth, a senior residential care worker in a children's home, said: "With everything that has happened over the past year with Covid-19, we wanted to do something very special that our family and friends could look forward to."

Amberleigh and partner Nick Easton have waited since their 20-week scan to reveal the gender of the girl who is due to be born 10 August.

During their scan they asked the staff to write down the gender in a sealed envelope, before sharing it with Blackpool Council and the tower's lighting team, who programmed the lights accordingly.

Amberleigh added: "It was a very hard, but exciting, car journey home, knowing what was in the envelope and knowing we were about to just hand it over to someone else to find out before us."

Mr Easton, an inspection engineer in the theme park industry, added: "Obviously, with the restrictions on numbers allowed to gather, we wanted to wait until we could have as many people as possible to celebrate the event with us, even if this meant us waiting an extra eight and a half weeks to find out.

"But when the lights went on it was well worth that wait!"

The couple organised the event with Blackpool Council and paid a fee for the lights to be reprogrammed in pink.

Paul Burnett from Blackpool Council, who organised the lighting programme, said: “It was pretty nerve-wracking knowing that I was party to such precious information, but it was a pleasure to be able to light up The Blackpool Tower for such a unique celebration."