JIM and Florence Bainbridge remember clearly the first time they laid eyes on each other - at a post box more than 60 years ago.

The post box is still there and after 60 years of marriage the couple have been just as enduring, celebrating their diamond wedding anniversary.

Mr Bainbridge, 80, of South Stanley said: "At that time, there were three ice-cream bars in the town where the young people met. I remember we first saw each other at the red post box in the Front Street of Stanley and started talking to each other. It must have been love at first sight."

Mrs Bainbridge, 82, who worked in the local pharmacy at the time, and Mr Bainbridge enjoyed visiting the dance halls during their courtship. Shortly after the war, he became one of the first conscripts and joined the RAF.

He later went on to work as a bus driver, while Mrs Bainbridge worked until her retirement as a home help with social services.

Mrs Bainbridge said: "We talk to each other all the time. We are just content with each other's company. You will seldom find one of us without the other."

The couple had three children, son Ray, who died, daughter June and son Jim.