FAMILY and friends of a popular Malvern couple joined them to celebrate their Diamond Wedding anniversary on Bank Holiday Monday.

Dorothy and Alfred Stowe marked 60 years of marriage at a party organised by their sons at the Civil Service Sports and Social Club.

The pair have lived in Malvern since 1958, and have three sons, two foster sons, 13 grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren.

They met through an event organised by the Salvation Army, in which Dorothy was a Colour Sergeant, and married soon after in Erdington, near Birmingham.

Alfred, 83, was in the army until 1952 and served in campaigns in Burma and India, during which he caught malaria six times.

After retiring from the forces, he started work at Norbury's Fruit Farm, in Leigh Sinton, and the couple have stayed in the area ever since.

They now live in Belmont Road, with their 21-year-old foster son Jeffrey.

"To be honest, I don't really know for sure what the secret of a happy marriage is, but I think it's got something to do with trust," said Dorothy, who is 83 in July. "We trust each other and do everything we can for each other, I don't know what I'd do without him."