Happy diamond wedding anniversary to Hartlepool's Ken and Mavis

Ken and Mavis Metcalfe are celebrating their diamond wedding anniversary today.

The couple, who live off Brierton Lane, tied the knot in 1956 at the town’s St Oswald’s Church and say they haven’t looked back since. And today they’ll be celebrating with their three children, three grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren.

Ken, 78, who worked as a milkman and window cleaner, said: “We’ve had a very happy life together. If I could go back in time I’d marry her all over again.”

Ken met Mavis, now 81, when they were teenagers and she worked in the dairy where he was a milkman.

He said: “She kept winking at me and I fancied her too so I asked her out on a date.

“I had red hair then and she always used to tell me how much she loved it. We got engaged when I was 16. We knew straight away that we always wanted to be together, and we’ve had a very happy life.

“We don’t have any pictures from our wedding day though because a friend of ours said he’d take them, but when they came out they were all dark. We have our memories though and we’ve done a lot together, including visit Canada a few times.

“We still spend a lot of time together now, we like working in the garden although Mavis does most of the work.”

Ken, who completed National Service as an Army driver in Hong Kong when he was 18, added: “I brought a camera back from Hong Kong with me and we’ve got lots of lovely photos.

“The secret to a happy marriage is give and take and never going to bed angry.”