A FORMER Oxford City footballer and his wife are celebrating 70 years of marriage.

Ray and Phyllis Hagar, 89 and 90 respectively, will mark their platinum wedding anniversary on Wednesday and celebrated yesterday with a big family party at their home in Yarnton.

Mr and Mrs Hagar, right, met when they were 17 years old at a fun fair in Oxpens, Oxford.

Mr Hagar, 89, said: “I was in one of the dodgems on my own. I asked her if she wanted to join me and she said yes.

“We have kept ourselves pretty fit and we have both worked hard all our lives.

“I hope we can have a few more anniversaries.”

The couple got married on April 4, 1942, at SS Mary and John in Cowley Road, Oxford, after courting for three years.

When they met they were both working for Morris Radiators in Woodstock Road but they had not bumped into each other.

Mr Hagar – who later worked as a police officer – played for Oxford City, Thame United and the police force side as a centre forward until the age of 52.

The couple had a daughter, Carol, two grandchildren and five great grandchildren.