THEY’VE enjoyed sixty years of wedded bliss - thanks to the Daily Echo.

Colin and Pauline Bull are celebrating their diamond wedding anniversary today, but the ceremony so nearly didn’t take place at all.

As teenage sweethearts back in 1962, they were told by Southampton magistrates that they must track down Colin’s long-lost father within two weeks for permission to marry.

An Echo newspaper cutting reached engineer Clarence Bull, who hadn’t seen his 19-year-old son since he was three, in Bristol and he hot-footed it to Southampton in time to meet his future daughter in law, 17-year-old Pauline Allen, and sign the vital documents ahead of the big day.

Daily Echo:

The couple required parental permission to wed as they were under 21 and Colin’s mother Dorothea, a devout Catholic, had refused to give them permission for a ceremony in a registry office. Young Pauline was too shy to have a big church wedding and the couple hoped to save money.

Colin and Pauline, from Mansbridge, now have four children, nine grandchildren and many great grandchildren.

They enjoyed a surprise party at the home of their daughter last weekend and have also received a congratulatory message from The Queen.

Daily Echo:

The couple met when Colin was the conductor on Pauline’s father Alfred’s bus. Colin lodged with Pauline’s family in Newton Road, Bitterne Park and they moved to a new flat on the 17th floor of Redbridge Towers after they were married.

These days, the couple like to do jigsaw puzzles and bingo. Colin has won trophies for his fantastic Meccano models and Pauline is a whizz at cross stitch.

“Thanks to the Echo, we’ve had a nice life together,” said Pauline, 77. So thank you for the last 60 years!”

“A lot of people said it wouldn’t last, but we’ve proved them wrong,” added Colin, now aged 79.

Colin and Pauline have kept the newspaper cuttings to remind them of their 15 minutes of fame all these years.