A COUPLE who stepped out to mark a milestone in their life together have raised more than £500 for charity.

Keen dancers Jimmy and Irene Alderson, both aged 80, invited 130 friends and relatives to a dance in the Victoria Club, Consett, to mark their diamond wedding anniversary.

The couple, who live in nearby Crookhall, asked guests not to give them presents, but to make a donation to Macmillan Cancer Relief instead. In total they received £566.

"It is a cause close to our hearts," said Mr Alderson, a former miner. "Fortunately, we have not been affected by cancer directly, but felt it was an appropriate charity to support."

Mrs Alderson was born in Flint Hill, near Stanley, the daughter of well-known bus operator Jackie Morris.

Mr Alderson, worked at Lanchester and Iveston Coal Company in nearby Hollinside until the early 1960s, when he transferred to Eden Colliery.

The couple met at a dance at the now-demolished Assembly Rooms in Lanchester, where Mr Alderson lived.

"That was the last time he danced until he was in his fifties," said his wife.

"He is never off the floor now."

They were married on November 11, 1944, in Harelaw Church, near Stanley, and moved to the village.

They stayed there 11 years, before settling in Crookhall, and had two daughters, Ann and Grace. They also have four grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.

It is the second time they have raised cash for Macmillan Cancer Relief. A similar request made to mark their golden wedding anniversary a decade ago raised more than £400 for the charity.