A LIFT home from a dance one evening eventually led to lasting love for a Worcester golden wedding couple - but only after two false starts.

When Harold Badham left Holt Heath parish hall after a dance, he chivalrously offered fellow dancer Edith and her friends a lift to Shrawley.

They turned him down, so the next week Mr Badham drove to his home in Astley, near Stourport-on-Severn, without asking to drop the girls home.

He said: "That week it was pouring with rain and afterwards I found out they'd said if that chap stops tonight we'll have a lift. I thought, it serves them right!"

It was not until the following week that Mr Badham finally escorted the future Mrs Badham home and the journey marked the start of a whirlwind romance.

They married six months later on December 22, 1956, at Shrawley Church, near Worcester. Mr Badham, now aged 73 was an agricultural building worker for a company that later became Powell and Evans, in Grimley, and Mrs Badham, now 78, was a lady's assistant in Shrawley.

They were unable to go on honeymoon because the Suez Crisis had led to petrol rationing.

The couple set up home together in Sankyns Green, near Shrawley, and in 1965 moved to their current address in Green Lane, near Rainbow Hill, Worcester.

They had three children - Jenny, Kevin and Peter.

Mrs Badham later worked for a catering firm, cooking school dinners for two local schools. She also worked at Kays and Co and the Carwardine café in Pump Street, Worcester.

Mr Badham remained at Powell and Evans until he retired in 2004, having clocked up more than 50 years' service for the company.

He said the couple were keen caravanners and had toured the south of England and Scotland. They also shared a love of country and western music.

In October, the pair enjoyed a holiday in the Rhine Valley, Germany, as part of their golden wedding celebrations.

The family, including their six granddaughters and one grandson, will join them for a meal at the Crown, Hallow, this weekend.

When asked the secret of their successful marriage, Mr Badham said talking was the answer.

He said: "If you have an argument, it can be sorted out by talking it over. You can always find a solution somewhere."