Britain's official happiest married couple have revealed their recipe for a happy, long-lasting relationship.

Constance and Walter Clasper received the honour after 65 years together in an award ceremony at London's Savoy Hotel this week.

The couple from Castletown, near Sunderland, say romance and sharing, but above all talking, is the secret of a happy marriage.

"We have talked every problem through ever since we were married," said 82-year-old Constance. "Talking and communication is the key and keep loving each other. No one should be scared to say I love you.

"We love each other today as much as we did when we first met," said 85-year-old Walter.

"I tell her I love her every day."

But it's not all been plain sailing.

Walter was at first too shy to ask his future bride out for a date, so he got his friend to do it.

"Yes, it was love - he had a motorbike," Constance recalled.

The couple - Constance was then aged 18 and Walter 22 - were married in 1937, just as the storm clouds of war loomed over Europe.

Walter was called up to the Durham Light Infantry in 1940 and taken prisoner of war in north Africa in 1942. The couple were apart for three years but, after the war, had four children, and are now grandparents of seven.

The couple's other tips to younger couples are remembering anniversaries, special dates and special songs, being romantic, and keeping a sense of humour.