MORE than 300 people joined in celebrating the golden wedding of one of the most prominent farming couples in the North-East.

Bill and Mary Wearmouth invited the whole village of Eastgate, in Weardale, County Durham, to their anniversary party in a barn at the family farm on Saturday.

They were joined by friends and members of farming communities from across the region.

With them were their three sons, Kenneth, George and Paul, and their six grandchildren.

Mr Wearmouth, 71, and 69-year-old Mary, met on a bus travelling up the dale from Wolsingham Show.

He was the son of one of the oldest farming families in Weardale. She was the daughter of a Rookhope fluorspar mining engineer.

After that, they started regularly going to social events in the dale.

Following their marriage at Rookhope, the couple became heavily involved in the sheep farming industry and the development of community life, particularly in Eastgate.

Mr Wearmouth, who is a leading breeder of bluefaced Leicesters, has won trophies at shows regionally and nationally.

He has also played a prominent part in public life, retiring last year after 23 years as a magistrate at Bishop Auckland.

But most of the Wearmouths' social and working life has centred on Eastgate, where, along with other villagers, they have helped revamp the village hall and organise the annual sheep show.

Asked what they thought was the recipe for a long and happy marriage, they replied: "Mutual respect and a lot of shared interests".