SHARED interests and a bit of 'give and take' have been the ingredients for one Cofton Hackett couple's diamond romance.

Dennis and Irene Munns of Oakfield Drive, celebrated 60 years of wedded bliss on Monday. The couple first met in Northampton when Dennis worked as a policeman. Irene went on a date to the cinema with Dennis' friend, and Dennis was the gooseberry.

But Irene fell in love with Dennis and they courted for two and a half years before running off to get married in a secret ceremony.

Their honeymoon night was spent in the Severn Tunnel as they were on their way to Wales but the air raid siren went and they had to shelter in the tunnel.

Eighty-one-year-old Dennis was a Birmingham City policeman for 30 years and the couple lived in a police house in Longbridge.

The couple have four children scattered around the world. And their son took them to the Barnt Green Inn for lunch to celebrate.