AS teenagers, Stanley and Hilda Whitlock used to go on long tandem rides through the Cotswold countryside.

Now more than six decades on, the Clanfield couple, who are both 80, are celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary.

They first met when they were pupils at Bampton CoE Primary School and later both worked as machinists at Clanfield Straw Mill.

At first they were just friends but before long they fell in love.

Mr Whitlock married Miss Elizabeth at St Stephen’s Church in Clanfield when they were both 20.

Mr Whitlock stayed on at Clanfield Straw Mill for 27 years and later worked at Eden Light in Witney packing greenhouses. He retired at 61.

He spent two years in the Army during his national service and helped with the reconstruction of Berlin following the Second World War.

Mr Whitlock put the longevity of their marriage down to “give and take”, saying: “We have had a few arguments but make up soon after.”

Mr and Mrs Whitlock had three children, Colin, 58, and Margaret, 59, but their son Clive died in a motorbike accident six years ago, aged 42.

Mr and Mrs Whitlock, who have four grandchildren and two grandchildren, will celebrate their anniversary today with a meal at The Plough in Alvescot.