Denis and Betty Pendle will celebrate their 65th wedding anniversary this week.

The couple, who live in Victoria Street, Littleport, met on a coach trip to Southend back in the 1940s at a time when they were both working on the land around Little Ouse, a hamlet just outside Littleport.

Denis, 88, and Betty, 86, were married at Ely Registry Office in 1949 but admit that they didn’t go on a honeymoon after they were wed as it “wasn’t the done thing” at the time.

Instead, they returned to work and made their home in Little Ouse.

The couple became landlords of the Hare and Hounds pub, in Prickwillow, for about five years but were moved out of the pub and in to Ely after the council decided it wanted to pull the building down and build a bridge in its place.

The couple went on to have a daughter, Sandra, and they also have a grandson, Daniel. They reserve a special place in their hearts for Jack Russell terrier Tilly.

Betty said that the secret to 65 years of marriage was a lot of “give and take” and “a great deal of sharing”.

The couple will celebrate their big day next Wednesday with family.