A TOW Law couple have been the perfect partnership on the tennis court and the dance floor during their 60 years of marriage.

A tribute from the Queen was among the many cards, flowers and presents sent to Newrick and Lily Grant's bungalow for their diamond wedding anniversary.

The couple were married in Tow Law Presbyterian Church after meeting at a church social.

Until a few years ago they shared a love of modern sequence dancing, usually at the Elite Hall, in Crook.

They also played tennis together at the now disbanded Tow Law Tennis Club and were the last winners of the Baldwin Mixed Doubles Tournament.

Mr Grant, 84, worked for 50 years as a steel moulder at Bonds Foundry and was an active member of the Home Guard during the war.

A keen all-round sportsman, he played cricket and tennis for Tow Law and served on the football club's committee for many years.

Mrs Grant, 80, worked for a while as a waitress at the former Alpine Grill and was well-known locally as a singer.

She enjoyed taking part in church concerts and singing at police functions at Harperley Hall. She still plays the organ.

The couple have two daughters, Lilian Stephenson and Margaret Hopper, sons-in-law Keith and Trevor, grandaughter Jane and her husband, John, and a great-grandaughter Katie Jayne.