"GIVE, take and love” is one Hampshire couple’s secret to a long and happy marriage as they celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary this week.

Bishopstoke couple David and Jocelyn Eames’ paths crossed in 1950 when they started working together at a printing company in Eastleigh.

Three years later, David asked Jocelyn to go to the cinema and they have been together ever since.

“The film was terrible, I didn’t like it. But we came out and laughed and had something to eat and that made it better,” said Jocelyn, 82.

“One day we were sitting in my home and he told me ‘shall we get married’, before asking my dad for permission.”

The couple married on March 23, 1957 at St Mary’s Church in Bishopstoke and travelled to Devon for their honeymoon.

David, 85, a former compositor and Jocelyn, a former nurse, have been living in the same house since they got married and have two daughters.

“Being a family is the experience that we like the most. I don’t know what I would have done if we weren’t together,” she said.

“He is a gentleman and the nicest thing he’s done for me is giving me two beautiful daughters – I can’t wish for more than that.”

Jocelyn’s advice to any young couples is to never give up.

“There’s always something better around the corner. We have had some hard times but we have never given up,” she said.

Talking about Jocelyn, David said: “She is a kind person and thinks a lot about other people.”

Throughout the years David and Jocelyn have enjoyed many holidays together but Jocelyn said that the one in Malta and the one in Jersey are the best they have had.

The happy couple will be celebrating the milestone by going to Devon for a week together before a family holiday in Portugal in the summer.