A PLYMOUTH couple who met at the cinema as 15-year-olds have celebrated their Golden Wedding anniversary.

Brian and Betty Finch, from Brake Farm, were married at St Mark's Church in Ford on August 23, 1958.

But their romance began seven years earlier when the pair met at the Ford Palladium picture house on the corner of St Levan's Road and Ford Hill.

Mr Finch, 72, said: "We were very young when we met. We were 15 and our birthdays are only a couple of months apart.

"Everybody went to the pictures then – I used to go twice-a-week."

Living in Plymouth for most of their lives, Mr Finch worked in the dockyard for 35 years, starting out as a yard boy as soon as he finished school. Meanwhile Betty, also 72, worked in the food court at Dingles.

The couple have travelled extensively and now enjoy shopping trips together.

Mr Finch said: "We've been to Cyprus and Germany when our daughter was out there and we've got lots of fond memories."

The couple celebrated their great day at a special party with family and friends.

The couple have three grandchildren, Kelly, Michelle and David, and three great- grandchildren, Jack, Ben and Lily-May.

The longevity of the marriage didn't come as too much of a surprise to the Finch family, however, as both of the couple's parents also reached the 50-year mark. Mr Finch added: "Fifty years is a marvellous achievement, but both our parents also celebrated their Golden Wedding anniversaries, so it's sort of a family tradition."