AN Alvechurch couple who never had a honeymoon after the husband was called up to serve his country on the day of their wedding have celebrated their diamond anniversary in style.

Betty, 80, and Denis Cottam, 81, of Hinton Avenue, marked the occasion with a lunchtime party for family and friends.

Instead of receiving gifts, the couple asked partygoers to make donations either to the Macular Disease Society, which helps people with eyesight degeneration, or the County Air Ambulance.

They were married at Selly Hill Church in Weoley Castle in 1945 and had a lavish wedding reception thanks to the generosity of their friends and family who had saved and donated food coupons to provide a great spread.

Unfortunately, they did not have a honeymoon as Mr Cottam was called up for National Service on their wedding day.

In their teens and beyond, they rode a tandem all over England and Wales, covering thousands of miles.

After their first daughter was born, they attached a sidecar to the tandem and continued their cycling but had to stop when the second daughter came along.

The couple now have three daughters and six grandchildren.

For more than 40 years, they enjoyed modern sequence dancing four nights a week making many friends along the way.

They enjoy walking every day and meeting friends at the regular coffee mornings held in the village.