A COUPLE who met at a secret RAF radar station have celebrated their diamond wedding anniversary.

Stan and Lynn Schofield met in Northumberland during World War Two and kept in touch after Mr Schofield was posted abroad.

They married in Dewsbury in 1948 and moved to Colstan Way, Northallerton, where they still live. They had two children, Paul and Diane, and have five grandchildren.

At that time Mrs Schofield worked for the North Riding Health Authority and her husband worked at County Hall for North Yorkshire County Council's education department.

He went to Wimpole College, Cambridge, to do teacher training and in 1950 started as a physical education teacher at Allertonshire County Modern School where he worked for 32 years.

Once her children were older Mrs Schofield took a course at Darlington College of Art and at one point she was a member of five art societies. She still paints and is also writing her memoirs.

Mr Schofield is passionate about sport and was a promising footballer as a youngster. He hoped to play professionally but a wartime injury prevented him doing so. He is an expert fly fisher and even wrote a book about it - Reflections on the Water.

"The reason we have lived so long is because we have had interests of our own and it has kept us going all the while," said Mrs Schofield, 84. "I still have many things I want to do before I go. There isn't enough time for what I want to do."

Mr Schofield, also 84, said: "It's important to give and take and have interests that you both accept. It's just accepting each other for what you are. We get on together. We are never bored with each other and we are always doing something. We are very fortunate we are in reasonably good health and we are still here in our 80s."

The couple celebrated their special day by going out for a meal with their family and friends.