A COUPLE who met on the dance floor and weathered the separation of war before tying the knot have celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary.

Frank and Nell Marriott, 83, of Croxdale, near Durham, fell in love when they first saw each other at a village dance in 1943.

Mr Marriott said: "I was serving with the Inns of Court Regiment when we were stationed for a while in Throckley, near Newcastle. It was at a village dance there that I met my wife."

The couple got engaged before Mr Marriott went off to join the Normandy D-Day landings.

He said: "I had never thought about getting married. I did not want to leave a widow. There was always the difficulty that something could happen."

Mr Marriott, then a lance corporal, served with the 11th Armoured Reconnaissance, which was one of the first off the beaches on D-Day, landing half an hour before the main assault.

He fought through France and Belgian with his thoughts always with Nell.

They were reunited and married in March 1946. Mr Marriott was later demobbed and went on to work as an estimator at several firms across the North-East.

Mr Marriott said: "By and large we have taken everything as it has come, one day at a time and we have enjoyed it all."

They have three children, John, 58, Philip, 56 and Anne, 51.