When Jim Drummond had an evening out in Reading as a change from the usual Oxford night out, it transformed his life for ever.

He met his future wife Dorothy in the Berkshire town, and on December 13 they were celebrating 50 years of marriage.

Former Royal Navy seaman Mr Drummond, 72, said: "I wanted to go somewhere different and me and a few friends popped down there for the night. It was a good job I went, because that's where I met Dorothy."

Mrs Drummond, 73, said: "We honestly glanced at each other across the crowded floor. I'd definitely say it was love at first sight."

The couple, who now live in Grovelands Road, Risinghurst, Oxford, got engaged in 1950 before Mr Drummond was posted overseas by the Navy as a radar control gunner.

Mr Drummond worked at Morris Motors when he left the Navy and returned to Oxford.

Mrs Drummond said: "We do everything together, even if it's just a walk to get out of the house."

The couple will celebrate their anniversary with family and friends at a party at the Masons Arms, in Headington Quarry.