A PAIR of high-school sweethearts, who have lived in the same area of York their entire lives, are celebrating 60 happy years of marriage today.

Frank and Ena Harvey, who were born and bred in Burnholme and still live there now, first met at secondary school when Frank was 13 and Ena was 11.

They have been together ever since and married at St Clement’s Church on April 4, 1959.

Frank, now 80, was a plasterer, while Ena, 78, worked at a bakery on Petergate.

Frank and his two sons are keen anglers and are members of a local club, prompting fishing widow Ena to say that the key to their long marriage was “putting up with any nonsense - and a lot of fishing”.

The couple have also been through a lot, with both having had cancer in recent years.

Ena said: “I must thank our families for their love and support, they’ve been our backbone and I don’t know how we’d have managed without them.”

The Harveys will be celebrating with a meal at The Heworth Inn on Saturday, where they will be joined by their three children, Andrew, Steven and Lynne, and their six grandchildren as well as close friends.

Dringhouses couple Peter and Eileen Sparks celebrated their diamond wedding on April 1.

Peter, originally from Sandsend, and Eileen, from York, met at the Saturday night dances at the Spa Ballroom and married six years later, at St Hilda’s RC Church in Whitby.

During their courtship they corresponded while Eileen did her teacher training and became engaged when she started teaching in Teeside.

Having lived in Derbyshire and Lancashire, the couple moved back to York in 1965.

Peter, now 88, was a town planner, while Eileen, 82, was a primary school teacher.

She is also a Freeman of the City of York, following in both her father’s and grandfather’s footsteps.

They celebrated their big day last weekend with an outing to York Racecourse with more than 60 family and friends.

On Sunday, the couple renewed their vows at St Wilfrids RC Church, near the Minster, and believe the secret to a happy marriage is “remembering the promises they made”.

They have two daughters, Rebecca and Tamsin, two grandsons and a great-granddaughter.