A PAIR of teenage sweethearts who met in their local park are celebrating 60 years of marriage.
George and Hilda Colling, both 78, now live in Redcar, Teesside, but met when they were both 16 in their local park, at Stanley, Crook.
"She was on the swings and I swept her off on to the roundabout," said Mr Colling.
The couple married two years later and made their home in Stanley. Mr Colling planned to join the RAF but remained on the home front in his reserved occupation as a miner.
Mrs Colling stayed at home to bring up their three children - Malcolm, Hilary and John.
The family moved to London, where Mr Colling got a job as a bus driver.
They returned to the North-East in 1967, when Mr Colling got a job with United Buses, in Redcar. He retired due to ill health in 1988.
Since then, the couple have devoted their time to helping to bring up their eight grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.
The the couple celebrated their diamond wedding anniversary with their close knit family at a dinner at Saltburn Spa, followed by a party at their home.
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