A DIAMOND couple are celebrating 60-years of marriage after a chance meeting as they sheltered from the rain.

Bill and Isabel Shaw, of Bishop Middleham, near Ferryhill, celebrated the anniversary on June 7.

They met purely by chance as Mrs Shaw and her friend were caught out by the rain as they headed home from a night at the cinema, in Ferryhill.

The two friends decided to shelter in a shop doorway where they found two men who were doing the same.

One of the two men went onto become Mrs Shaw’s future husband Bill Shaw.

The other man in the doorway was Bill Robson and he went on to marry Mrs Shaw’s friend that night Annie.

Mrs Shaw, 81, of Flambard Court, said: "We still love each other and we have always had a happy marriage.

"It’s a great achievement and I’m not sure what the secret of a long marriage is but we always give and take."

They courted for nearly two years before they married at St Luke’s Church, Ferryhill, on June 7 1952.

Mr Shaw, 85, worked in the Dean and Chapter Colliery, Ferryhill, and at Newcastle Breweries and for United buses.

His wife worked in various shops and a chemist around the Ferryhill area before she retired.

The couple have three sons Dave, 57, Derrick, 56, and Graham, 52.