British guitar legend Eric Clapton has secretly married 25-year-old American Melia McEnery, the mother of his baby daughter, according to a newspaper report on Thursday.

Clapton, 56, tied the knot with McEnery, from Columbus, Ohio, in a low-key ceremony at a church near his Surrey, southern England, home on New Year's Day, The Sun reported.

Guests were told they were attending the christening of the couple's six-month-old daughter Julie Rose.

But after the baptism, Clapton and McEnery were called forward by the vicar and exchanged vows.

Fellow rock musician Andy Fairweather-Low was in the congregation, The Sun said.

His wife Barbara was quoted by the newspaper as saying: ''Everyone cheered when Eric stepped forward. It was lovely, a total surprise to everyone.''

The ceremony took place at St. Mary Magdelen church at Ripley, where Clapton's son, Conor, four, is buried.

He died after falling from a window in a skyscraper apartment in New York 11 years ago and is immortalised in Clapton's song ``Tears in Heaven.''

Clapton was married for nine years to Patti Boyd, whom he stole from former Beatle George Harrison. They divorced in 1988.

Clapton met McEnery, a graphic artist, on a trip to Los Angeles.

The guitarist's spokesman, Vivian Gibson, told The Sun: ``He has nothing to say.''