SIXTY years of marriage is just "tops" for an Unsworth couple who met during a milk delivery.

Alan and Barbara Chaisty celebrated their diamond wedding anniversary on Monday and among the "wellwishers" was Her Majesty the Queen who sent the couple a congratulatory card to mark their big day.

Barbara, aged 79, and 83-year-old Alan, of Parr Lane, have three children, Beverley, Barclay and Janette, and seven grandchildren. They will celebrate their diamond anniversary with a meal at the Red Hall Hotel in Walmersley this weekend.

Alan was born and raised in Gorton while Barbara hails from Crumpsall.

She recalled: "My father had a dairy in Crumpsall and the first time I met Alan was when he was delivering milk to us."

Three years later, the couple were married at St Matthew's Church in Crumpsall. They lived in the Crumpsall area and then spent two years at Sellafield in Cumbria before taking up residence in Bury in 1971.

Alan was a pipe fitter and welder for virtually all his working life and during his career spent some time abroad, including a spell at a pipeline in Oman in the Middle East. Barbara was a wages officer at Fairfield Hospital in Bury for 26 years before retiring.

She has been a member of Bury Golf Club since 1981 and still plays regularly. Alan also enjoyed the sport up for several years until he broke his back in 1986.

The couple received anniversary telephone greetings from as far away as the Cayman Islands and Australia.