A BIDFORD man still has a spring in his step when talking about the woman he met more than 60 years ago in a Redditch factory.

Fred and Barbara Cooke, of Westholme Road, who celebrate their diamond wedding anniversary tomorrow, met at Lewis Springs in Studley Road when they were both 15.

Hunt End girl Barbara was working in the warehouse, where Fred, from Ham Green, was working as a toolmaker.

The relationship flourished despite Fred being called up during wartime to serve on the Royal Navy's merchant ships, and they married in 1945.

The Crabbs Cross community rallied around and offered wartime ration coupons to give the couple the wedding of their dreams at Feckenham Church.

Fred returned to Lewis Springs Products after the war and the couple settled in Crabbs Cross with their children, Diane and Michael.

Daughter Diane Elvins said her parents had lived happily in Bidford for the last 34 years but Fred still looked back fondly on his travels with the Navy.

"He traces all the places he's been to on an ornamental globe, using cotton to link them up," she said.

But she added his heart was firmly at home with his wife and family, which includes three grandchildren and five great grandchildren.

"We're all very close and the children absolutely worship their grandparents," said Diane.

The family - all 23 members - celebrated the diamond wedding anniversary in style at the Chateau Impney, in Droitwich Spa.

Diane said: "We wanted to do something special to show how much we appreciate them."