A COUPLE who met whilst working at the Co-Op say that "patience" is the key to a successful marriage.

Don and Pat Allen aged 80 and 79 respectively, from Little Hill in Droitwich are celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary on Thursday.

The couple met when they were 15 and 16 in Birmingham with Mr Allen a butcher and Mrs Allen working in confectionary.

They tied the knot four years later, before moving to Droitwich 41 years ago, believing the town was a better place to bring up their child.

Mrs Allen said: "I think you have to have a lot of patience and humour.

"We have had our ups and downs as any couple has and even now he still does things that annoy me. He'll say whatever and I hate that word.

"He says he deserves a Duke of Edinburgh award for putting up with me and we came to the conclusion that we both deserve one.

"We both like to go travelling, so we have been to some great places together.

"My husband liked to go walking when we had a dog, he still goes walking sometimes and still takes dog biscuits with him so he knows all the local dogs."

The pair are celebrating by having their three children Susan, Malcolm and Stuart, three grandchildren and three great-grandchildren coming to visit with some coming from as far away as Essex and Nottingham.