A DIAMOND couple have celebrated a milestone anniversary after 60 years of marriage.

George and Anne French met through mutual friends whilst living in London when they were just teenagers.

Their relationship was put to the test early on when George signed up for national service and was away for nearly two years.

He asked Anne to write to him, and upon returning to England the pair became engaged.

A year later, on September 10, 1955, the couple married at a registry office in Greenwich in a low-key service with just close family.

Anne and George went on to have four children - three sons and one daughter - who they brought up in London where George worked as a postman and Anne worked in a school canteen.

In the 1960s the couple decided to relocate to Basingstoke.

Anne's brother had already made the move to the town and the family stayed with him for a while to try and find their own house.

In 1966 the family moved into their new home and George eventually found a permanent job working as a milkman for Down Grange Dairy.

In 1982 the couple took up a joint position to run a Post Office in Oakridge, where they stayed until retirement in 1994.

It was whilst working here that they suffered a terrifying ordeal.

George, 81, explained: "A young lad with glasses on entered the Post Office and he pushed a note underneath the counter and it said 'I have a gun'. I said 'go away!'"

Anne, 78, added: "It wasn't until the police came and said 'you don't know there wasn't a gun' that we thought about it."

George was presented a certificate of valour from the police for his bravery, recognising his "courageous and resourceful conduct".

The couple are well-known in the area, particularly because of their job at the Post Office and George's role helping to run Oakridge Football Club for 10 years.

Anne and George now have 12 grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren, who joined them for a celebratory party on Saturday to mark their diamond anniversary.

Asked what is the key to a happy marriage, George said: "I would say give and take. We were only saying last night we don't think we have ever had a really big argument we have had differences."

Anne added: "We have a difference of opinion but if you talk it through and don't start banging fists down."

The couple will mark their anniversary today by trying to locate a star that was bought for them as a gift.