WHEN Bekki Cocks’ friends told her that if she loved her rug so much she should marry it – not many of them expected her to follow through with it.

But earlier this month, the 26-year-old British casino worker declared “I Rug You” in front of specially invited guests as she married the rug of her life in a special service.

Cocks and Mat – the name given to her favorite rug by the mom of two – tied the knot and enjoyed their honeymoon at home in Greater Manchester.

During the intimate hourlong service, Cocks, who was dressed in a traditional all-white wedding dress for the occasion, promised to love, honor and care for Mat “till death us do part.”

Cocks said: “I bought Mat about a year ago and I’ve been banging on about how much I love him to anyone who will listen ever since.

“It became a bit of a thing with my friends who used to joke ‘if you love Mat so much why don’t you marry him?’

“I spend so much time looking after him – cleaning him and vacuuming him a couple of times every day and making sure he always looks his very best – I couldn’t imagine being without him now.”

Cocks uses stain remover to clear up any mess her two young children may have left on Mat during the day. And in the evening, she will give Mat one final clean to ensure he enjoys a crumb-free night.

She’s not the only person to “find love” with an inanimate object.

Amanda Liberty, 35, from Leeds, says she is in an open relationship with several light fittings, but plans to wed a chandelier called Lumiere.

She changed her surname from Whittaker during a previous long-distance relationship with the Statue of Liberty.

She identifies herself as an objectum sexual — meaning she is attracted to objects. She bought 91-year-old Lumiere from Germany for US$533 and said: “She caught my eye on eBay. I had no idea she was my soon-to-be wife.”(SD-Agencies)