A COUPLE who met at their local chapel as teenagers have celebrated 60 years of marriage.

Derrick, 82, and Elizabeth Wilson, 81, who live in Marton, were married on May 21, 1956, at the Methodist church in Stainforth, near Doncaster.

The couple had started courting after meeting at the chapel hall in nearby Thorne.

Derrick said: "I looked across the room and saw Elizabeth and that was it."

After their marriage, the couple lived in Stainforth were Derrick joined at architect practise. They later moved to Sheffield for Derrick's job before he returned to his original firm where he stayed until retirement.

Derrick said they had decided to move to Marton after looking round the area and bought a piece of land were he designed their own house.

"Over the years we have enjoyed singing together as Elizabeth was a professional singer and we sang with a number of choirs in South Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire," he said. "We have also travelled all over Europe and America, mainly by car."

Derrick now enjoys gardening while Elizabeth runs two ladies luncheon clubs, which meet in Helmsley and Ampleforth.

The couple have three daughters and a son, six grandchildren and two great grandchildren, who will be joining them for a celebration to mark their diamond wedding.

Derrick said: "We both have strong characters but throughout our marriage we have had the freedom to argue and then make up."