WADDON councillor Clare Hilley has tied the knot with partner Steven George.

The couple married at St Elphege's Church, in Stafford Road, Wallington, on July 24.

They held their reception at the Hilton Hotel, off the Purley Way, and spent their honeymoon in Mombasa, Kenya.

Cllr Hilley, 26, who studied at South Croydon's Regina Coeli School, is a former reality TV star having been on the BBC1 show Castaway in 2007.

She was one of 13 castaways who were left to live on a remote island off New Zealand.

Cllr Hilley told the Advertiser: "We've been together nearly three years. I met him about four months after Castaway."

She met senior accounts director Mr George when she made a speech about her experience on the show in London.

On the day of the wedding, a horse and carriage took her from the family home in Plough Lane, Purley, to the church.

Speaking about their honeymoon in Kenya, Cllr Hilley added: "We visited an orphanage and gave most of our clothes away to the local villages, as the majority of Kenyans only have enough money for food and can't afford clothes."

It was in February last year that Cllr Hilley was elected to her seat in Waddon after a by-election was called following the sudden death of Croydon mayor Jonathan Driver.