A COUPLE who celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary at the weekend said the secret of a long-lasting marriage was plenty of hard work.

Retired farmer Thomas William Hardy, 82, and his wife, Greta May, 83, marked their diamond anniversary with a family party at their home in Thornton le Dale.

They met at a dance and married at Marton Church, near Stillington, on April 2, 1945. They took over a dairy and arable farm at Gilling East, where they stayed for 17 years before they moved to Whitwell-on-the-Hill, where they farmed for 40 years.

Asked what was the secret of a good marriage, Mrs Hardy said: "Plenty of hard work to keep you quiet. It keeps the mind occupied and if you have got plenty to do, you don't fall out."

The couple have two sons, four grandchildren and two great grandchildren.

* Golden wedding couple Derek and Joan Thornton, from Fulford, York, have raised £1,200 for the Salvation Army and St Leonard's Hospice after they asked friends and relatives to make donations, instead of buying gifts for them.