A couple who grew up in the same street yesterday celebrated 50 years of marriage.

Allan and Clara Todd have been close friends since they were toddlers, living just four doors apart in High Street, Byers Green, Spennymoor.

As teenagers, the pair were still close, before Allan went to serve with the 1st Battalion Durham Light Infantry during the Korean War.

Mr Todd, 76, said: "I came back from the Army after two years, but my mates were still out there, so Clara said she'd keep me company until they came back. I've still got her now."

The couple married at St Peter's Church, Byers Green, on March 31, 1956, and settled in the village.

Mrs Todd worked as a nurse at Bishop Auckland General Hospital until they started a family, when she did part-time shop work instead, and her husband worked as a long distance driver.

Mrs Todd, 69, said: "We both like walking, in the Durham Dales and the Lake District, and have travelled all over the world. I always wanted to travel and knew he would like it. We've been across Europe and the Mediterranean, the Far East, America and Canada."