A chance meeting in Chippenham High Street led to love for Brian and Jill Davis, who celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary last week.

Mr and Mrs Davis, from Pewsham, spent their special day with family during a meal at Bowood House on Thursday.

The couple met when they were teenagers and courted for five years before they married in 1952 at St Andrew’s Church.

They were both with friends when they met in the High Street and arranged their first date at the Astoria Cinema.

Mrs Davis said: “It was a Good Friday so everything was closed; we had just come back from my grandmother’s. Brian and his friend were on a bike and they just called out to us. I was 13 and he was 15.”

At the time of the wedding Mr Davis was with the RAF in Plymouth for his National Service and had to request leave to get married.

He returned to live with his wife in Studley after serving two years in the RAF and they moved to Chippenham about five years later.

Mrs Davis used to work at a bank in Chippenham while Mr Davis built up a career in sales. He worked for three years for Hoover and 33 years for Electrolux, where he was made sales manager.

A year after they were married the couple had a son and now they also have two grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

Mr and Mrs Davis, now 81 and 79, are both car enthusiasts. They own two classic Jaguars and have travelled abroad on tour with other motoring fans.

Mr Davis said ten years ago they also had a very similar celebration with family at Bowood for their 50th anniversary.

He said: “The staff at Bowood were brilliant, it was like ten years had just suddenly disappeared, time seems to go so quickly. I cannot believe that we’ve known each other for 65 years.

“We liked each other when we first met and it turned to love. We have a lot of fun together; we laugh a lot and the family laugh a lot.

“We spend time together and we’re always happy to meet up and enjoy the company.”