A COUPLE who met at a north Durham dance hall more than six decades ago have celebrated their diamond wedding anniversary.

Edwin and Jean Piper got together after meeting at The Palais in Stanley in the early 1950s.

They wed at East Stanley Methodist Chapel on March 27, 1954, and now have two children, two grandchildren and a three-year-old great granddaughter.

Mr Piper, 80, a former miner and mechanic, and Mrs Piper, 77, a school dinner dinner lady and hospital cleaner, lived in Pontefract, West Yorkshire, for 30 years before returning to their native North-East.

They now lived in Tanfield Lea, near Stanley, and are celebrating with a stay at Beamish Hall Hotel tonight (Thursday, March 27).

They plan to renew their vows at the chapel where they were married on Sunday, April 6.

Mrs Piper said: “As well as being husband and wife, we are the best of friends. We are family orientated. We have been very lucky.”