A BUSY couple who devote their lives to public service celebrated their golden wedding yesterday.
Councillors Sonny and Margaret Douthwaite spend many hours working for the community of St Helen Auckland, near Bishop Auckland.
They are the only husband and wife to have served as chairman of Wear Valley District Council, where Mrs Douthwaite is still a member and chairs the licensing committee.
Mr Douthwaite joined Durham County Council in 1997 and is now chairman of highways, one of the busiest posts on the authority.
They met as teenagers growing up in West Auckland in the late 1940s and married six years after they first got together in 1950.
Mr Douthwaite said: "We lead busy lives and rarely see each other during the day but it works for us.
"We love our work in the community and we understand what each other does.
"It never stops being interesting."
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