THE threat of a bombing raid by the Luftwaffe began the romance of diamond wedding anniversary couple Sam and Doff Riddell.

They bumped into each other during a blackout in Staindrop in 1939.

Mr Riddell was stationed in Teesdale as his Army regiment prepared for war, and the couple struck up a conversation after he mistakenly stumbled into her house during a blackout.

Romance blossomed and Mr Riddell visited his future bride when he was on leave. They married at St Mary's Church on October 25, 1941.

The couple, who have lived in Staindrop since they wed, are holding a party on November 9 to celebrate 60 years of marriage.

Mr Riddell, 83, who was among the first group of British soldiers to enter Berlin in 1945, left the Army the following year and took a job with Glaxo, in Barnard Castle, where he worked for 35 years.

Mrs Riddell, 76, was a hairdresser and also worked shifts at Glaxo.

Mr Riddell said: "It was a funny way to meet, during a blackout, because I stumbled into her house thinking it was a pub. Anyway, we hit it off and I was just glad to get through the war and come home to my wife, because a lot of lads didn't, and we have been very happily married ever since."

The couple are donating all their anniversary gifts to the Macmillan Cancer Relief appeal, supported by The Northern Echo, which aims to raise £600,000 to provide a specialist consultant and two specialist nurses in County Durham