The Christmas period is a special time of the year for friends and family to come together for a celebration.

For a family in Gorleston, this year's festivities take on extra significance as John and Iris Stebbings celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary.

The pair, who are both 79, met playing badminton at a church youth club in Woodford, London in 1956 and married two years later on December 20.

Mrs Stebbings worked at a bank in London while her husband was an apprentice at a chemical firm in Stratford.

The land later became part of the Olympic Park.

Having became a firefighter, Mr Stebbings helped tackle the UK's worst oil spillage disaster 50 years ago when Torrey Canyon, one of the world's first super tankers, was halted in Cornwall.

The pair had two children, Louise and Mark, and subsequently moved to Belton.

Here they played an active part in church life and in 1999 were part of a group which teamed up with St. Andrew's parish church to found Cliff Park Community Church .

Mr Stebbings served on the leadership team and continues to run courses and lead communion services.

The pair moved in recent times to live Gorleston.