A COUPLE who met at York Theatre Royal in the 1950s are today celebrating their diamond wedding anniversary with their family.

John, 87, and Brenda Pearcy, 82, of Bishopthorpe, met at an event at the theatre and married two years later. They are today celebrating 60 years of marriage.

John remembered: "A friend wanted me to go to the Theatre Royal because he said some nice girls go on a Saturday.

"I gave her a lift back to her home on my motorbike afterwards and we have been together ever since."

The couple ran farms in Heslington and then Colton before they moved to Bishopthorpe in 1987.

They have three children, Andrew, who now runs the Colton farm, Elizabeth and Janet, and 11 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

In their spare time they have enjoyed holidays around the world from South Africa to America.

Brenda said the secret to their long and happy marriage was consideration for each other.

She said: "We have always tried to listen and support each other and be interested in what each other was doing.

"We have also taken great pleasure from our family."

They plan to celebrate with a family party.