A BIKE with no lights, an over-zealous policeman and a soldier rescuing a damsel in distress has led to 60 years of happiness for this Oxford couple.

Bob and Wendy Rich, of Chilswell Road, celebrated their Diamond Wedding anniversary on Thursday.

The parents of two, grandparents of six, and great grandparents of one, met when a 15-year-old Mrs Rich, nee Parker, was caught cycling down St Aldates with no lights on her bike.

Mrs Rich, 78, said: “A policeman stopped me and made me get off the bike.

“There were two soldiers watching me from the corner of Pembroke Street. One of them walked up to me and asked if he could help in anyway, and it was Bob.”

The couple courted for four years before marrying at South Oxford Baptist Church in Wytham Street, on August 18, 1951.

Mrs Rich, a former dressmaker for designer Jasper Conran, who once made a suit for Princess Diana, has suffered from poor health in recent years, including three strokes and a heart attack.

She said her husband was a caring man who had looked after her without complaint. She added: “I think the secret to a long marriage is caring for each other and just thinking about each other more than yourself.”

Mr Rich, 82, a former mechanic at Layton’s of Headington, said: “Wendy is very caring and nothing panics her. When she had a heart attack she remained calm.

“The secret is simple. Just look after each other and share everything. I don’t have much, but what I do have, I share with Wendy.”