A COUPLE celebrating their diamond wedding anniversary said they have been blessed with many  wonderful friends since moving to North Yorkshire 30 years ago.

Pat and Jo (CORRECT) Baker, aged 79 and 84, married on October 9 1952, but Mrs Baker said - apart from a few added aches and pains -  they still feel the same about each other.

The couple, who live in Ravensworth, near Richmond, were treated to an afternoon party hosted by neighbour Carole Cuithbertson.

Mrs Baker said: “Jo treated me to a diamond ring and I bought him a watch, so we were very pleased with that.”

The couple met in East Anglia when Mrs Baker worked in a bank but the romance became long distance when she was transfered to London.

“I convinced my parents that we should marry to save on the train fares," she added.

Mr Baker was a television engineer and then a technician in a school, while Mrs Baker later became a teacher.

She retired early because of arthritis, so Mr Baker left his job too and the couple moved to Ravensworth, where they had holidayed several times.

The couple have no children but said they are blessed with many friends.

Mrs Baker is the chairman of Catterick Group of Artists.

“I always wanted to paint but only really found the time since I retired. My husband has a collection of about 400 radios in a small museum at home – there are not many old ones left now which is good because we would be over-run with them,” she joked.