A CHANCE meeting on a bus just before the outbreak of the Second World War led to a wartime romance and 60 years of happy marriage.

Victor and Marjorie Furniss, who celebrate their diamond wedding anniversary this weekend, met when bad weather forced Victor to catch the bus instead of cycle to work one morning.

Romance followed and with the outbreak of war Victor joined the army and served overseas in Egypt.

Back in the UK, Marjorie volunteered to work for the Red Cross and spent her spare time writing letters.

"She wrote to me all through the war, every week," said Victor.

Their wartime romance led to a wedding in 1945 and the couple have been happily married ever since.

"I wouldn't change anything. It's been lovely," said Victor.

The couple, who live in Bromsberrow Heath, near Ledbury, settled in Cheshire after the war, where Victor ran an insurance brokerage and served as a magistrate. They moved to Hereford-shire in 1977 when he retired.

"We love the area and wouldn't want to leave. It's a lovely place," said Victor, who worked on the committee that secured the Ledbury bypass.

Victor, 89, and Marjorie, 85, have two children, a grandaughter and two great grandchildren.

Members of the family will be joining them for their diamond wedding celebrations.