Flowers, but no champagne at Reggie Kray's wedding

The bride wore white - but that was about the only traditional element at the wedding of Reggie Kray, the convicted gangland killer, and Roberta Jones yesterday.

Kray, 63, married 38-year-old Ms Jones, an English graduate, in the chapel at Maidstone prison, followed by an alcohol-free reception attended by a handful of close friends and relatives.

The ceremony took place the day after a 30-minute laser show, organised by Kray, lit up the prison walls to mark the occasion.

The names Reggie and Roberta were flashed up on the night sky along with an image of wedding bells. It was a gesture more in keeping with a celebrity wedding than that of one of the country's most notorious criminals.

After the service, Kray's solicitor, Mark Goldstein, said: "Mr Kray and Miss Jones were married within the confines of Maidstone prison. They wish to thank their family and friends for their love and support and look forward to the time when Reggie is released and they can spend the rest of their lives together."

The bride, wearing an ankle-length ivory beaded dress, arrived at the visitors' gate of the prison early in the afternoon, driven in a black jeep by a female friend.

Other relatives gathered in the pub across the road, where flowers were delivered, including a bouquet from Reggie's elder brother, Charlie.

Reggie Kray is serving his 29th year of a 30-year sentence for the murder of Jack "The Hat" McVitie.

His twin brother, Ronnie, died at Broadmoor top security hospital two years ago, and Charlie has just begun the first year of a 10-year sentence for supplying cocaine.

After the reception, the new Mrs Kray walked out of the main prison entrance and stepped into the waiting jeep which drove off at speed, hitting one of several photographers.

Kray's first wife, Frances, committed suicide two years after their marriage in 1965, and since then he has been linked with various women who have visited him in prison.

Kate Watson-Smyth