A GRANDMOTHER was overcome by a touching present from her grandson.

Gary Sallis, from Brighton, handed 93-year-old Betty Sallis a re-colourised photo of her wedding day – and she was so moved she cried.

Her husband Frank Pilby died 19 years after their marriage in 1950, and this was the first time she had seen the picture from her wedding album in full colour.

A video of her unwrapping the gift shows her adjusting her glasses in disbelief, beaming with joy, gasping with her hand over her mouth and holding back tears.

After looking into her lap and fiddling with the ribbon, she looks at the camera and smiles. “I looked great there didn’t I,” she laughs.

The photo was colourised by graphic designer Nick Harris, 35, from Maidstone. He said he had “no idea” his work would have such an impact. He said: “It’s not often I get to see a video of a reaction like this.

“The family said they don’t tend to see a huge amount of emotion from her. She’s from that wartime generation where they just get on with life. But seeing her so affected made them emotional too.

“I love how she goes through such a range of emotions, and it’s nice to see that I’ve helped make such a precious moment for her.

“It makes all that time and effort seem worthwhile.”

Nick began restoring photos in his spare time after he discovered a box of old images showing his grandfather in the Second World War. Since then, he has spent 12 years perfecting the process.

He said: “It’s all done digitally so as not to harm the original.

“It’s a case of building up layers of colour. I start with skin tones and working in the shadows. There are so many shades of blue in a shadow.

“Then, as I’m layering on the colour, slowly, it begins to come to life.

“For a reaction like this, it’s worth all the hard work.”