A DEVOTED couple celebrated 60 years of wedded bliss this week. George and Sarah (known as Sally) Greener, above, met at a dance at Thornley Village Hall when they were 20 and 18 respectively.

Five years later, they were married and settled in Thornley, where they still live. Mr Greener, now 85, worked for most of his life at Shotton Colliery, spending his last few years before retirement at Black and Decker, in Spennymoor.

The couple had three sons, although one died in 1998, and have six grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. They plan to mark their diamond wedding anniversary with a family gathering today. Mr Greener said: "We've never had any great arguments and we have got on well from the start. We have always gone everywhere together."