IT started with a dance – now 60 years on Joe and June Wallwork are celebrating their diamond wedding anniversary.

The Bury couple celebrated on April 4 and enjoyed a meal and drinks with 30 family and friends at The Pavilion Bar and Bistro in Birtle.

The couple, now in their 80s, met at a dance in Bolton in 1950, and after five years of courting, married at St Paul's Church, Deansgate, followed by a reception at a nearby pub and a three-day honeymoon in Blackpool.

Mrs Wallwork, aged 82, recalled her husband did not have the courage to ask her out, so a friend had to instead.

“Our first date was to the cinema in Bolton. I remember it well but I’m not sure Joe does,” Mrs Wallwork joked.

Instead of gifts for their anniversary, the pair asked guests to make a donation to Bury Hospice and managed to raise £360.

“We decided we would rather people donated their money to Bury Hospice than buy us gifts, but we didn’t expect to raise as much as we have,” said Mrs Wallwork, who worked from the age of 14 to 59 as a machinist, making dresses and overalls in Bolton.

She added: “The key to a long lasting happy marriage is tolerance and we have both agreed on that before.”

The couple, who are planning a second meal out with just each other for company to celebrate their anniversary, have a close knit family – with one child Joe, daughter-in-law Julie and two grandchildren Nathaniel, aged 15 and Isobel, aged 12.

Mr and Mrs Wallwork, of Brandle Avenue, spend time together using their iPads, watching TV and socialising with neighbours, but also enjoy some time away from each other when Mrs Wallwork attends patchwork classes once a week.

“When June goes to her class on a Tuesday afternoon I enjoy putting my feet up for a few hours by myself,” said Mr Wallwork, a plumber who retired at the age of 63, and is now 83.

In their time together, they have enjoyed numerous cruises, trips to Florida and Canada and had a number of pets.