A WREXHAM couple are preparing to celebrate a special milestone.

Wendy and Peter Jones married on September 3, 1960 - making this year their diamond anniversary.

The couple, who moved to the town from Cheshire in 2002, have also just been able to arrange a socially distanced party to mark the occasion.

Mrs Jones, 78, shared some of her memories from the past 60 years, beginning with how they met.

She said: "He picked me up and we went out on a date to a jazz club.

"After that I went to work in Jersey so I didn't see him again until I came back. "I went to a rugby club dance with a friend and he was there again. "One thing led to another and he popped the question about six months later - but my mother made him wait two years because I was only 16 at the time.

"Our wedding was at St George's Church in Altrincham. "It was a lovely day. There were no hitches and everything went well. "We went back to my husband's parents' house for a buffet and we went on our honeymoon to Jersey.

"I was already familiar with Jersey, having worked there, so I took Peter around and showed him places and he really enjoyed it. "It was a lovely time and we had very good weather."

"After we got married my husband worked at Shell Petrochemicals and I took a part time job," Mrs Jones said.

"After that we became hotel managers and ended up in London where we had a pub, The Phoenix, which was the nearest pub to Buckingham Palace.

"We came out of the hotel business in 1996 and I went to work at Marks and Spencer, while my husband was taxi driving.

"We did that for a few years then retired in 2000 and came to North Wales in 2002."

Asked about the secret to a long and happy marriage, she added: "We've never been apart. We work together, go on holiday together - everything.

"We have a built-in instinct as to how the other feels.

"We often find ourselves thinking or saying the same things at the same time. "I think the biggest thing is respecting the other person, their ideas and their feelings."

Mr and Mrs Jones had one son, named Ross, who died in a motorbike incident in 2001 aged 38.

After restrictions on lockdown were eased Mrs Jones said she and her husband, 85, have been able to book a small party in at the Brymbo Social Club in time to celebrate their anniversary.