A diamond couple have celebrated six decades of wedded bliss with a special lunch surrounded by friends and family.

Eileen and Arthur Leftley married in 1951 after meeting during the Second World War in Stradbroke, near Eye.

Mrs Leftley, now 81, had come to stay with relatives to get away from wartime life in West London when she met her future husband, who was a baker's roundsman delivering bread to homes in the village.

As a young girl, she may have found rural Suffolk life an unwelcome change of pace from living in the capital but after years of visits and sending letters back and forth, their romance blossomed and they married, settling in Stradbroke.

Mrs Leftley said: 'Our first outing together was a lot of years ago when they used to run buses to Norwich Speedway. It went on from there.'

She said the secret to a long-lasting marriage was to remain friends as well as loving one another.

She added: 'You are bound to have disagreements but don't argue about it.'

Mrs Leftley worked for shoe polish firm Kiwi and Mr Leftley, 89, who grew up in Wingfield, worked for local company Biggs and Sowter on their mobile shop for many years before driving a school bus until his retirement.

They had one child, Jenny, and now have four grandchildren – including 26-year-old triplets.

The couple enjoyed a celebratory family lunch at the Park Hotel in Diss.