JOHN and Doris Nunn celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary with friends and neighbours yesterday.

They put on a spread and shared cups of tea and the odd glass of wine at their Parkside home, in Tanfield Lea, near Stanley.

Mr and Mrs Nunn used to take the same bus to Gateshead when they were teenagers on their first jobs.

Mr Nunn, now 84, was an apprentice maintenance fitter in Bensham, while Mrs Nunn, now 81, worked in a clothing factory on the Team Valley Trading Estate.

They went on their first date more than 65 years ago, at The Grand cinema, in Burnopfield.

The sweethearts were separated only months after getting together, when Mr Nunn joined the Royal Navy.

He sailed the world on the aircraft carrier HMS Formidable, while Mrs Nunn waited five years for him to return.

Mr Nunn was de-mobbed on February 5, 1946, and the couple married a month later, on March 9, at Hobson Methodist Church.

Mrs Nunn said: "I waited for him all the time, and he was worth it. We have enjoyed many happy years together."

The couple are looking forward to a family meal at the Harperley Hotel, near Tanfield Lea, on Saturday, with sons Stuart and David, their wives, Sophie and Madeline, as well as grandchildren Emily and Alice.

Mr Nunn said: "It seems to have flown over. We keep thinking 'Where have all the years gone?'

"We have had a very happy marriage over the past 60 years and enjoyed every day."