THEY had to pause proceedings when they tied the knot as shrapnel from an air raid fell on the roof of their church.

But since then May and Harold Glover have enjoyed life to the full during their 75 years of marriage.

The happy couple mark the unique anniversary on Monday but enjoyed a family party at the weekend as relatives, including their five great grandchildren, travelled from Dorset, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire to mark the special occasion.

Proud daughter Pauline Parker added: "Not many couples make it to 75 years and someone was trying to correct my son saying he must be going to a 75th birthday party rather than a wedding anniversary.

"It's hard to believe and we couldn't find any cards in the shops for the occasion so had to buy stick-on numbers.

"It was a lovely day and they really perk up when they see their great grandchildren."

May and Harold, who currently live at Ryfields Retirement Village, met in the Parish Rooms Dance Hall in 1935/6.

The keen dancers regularly went to the Tower Ballroom in Blackpool on Saturday nights and have known each other for roughly 80 years after marrying in Warrington Parish Church during an air raid over Liverpool.

Harold trained as a plumbing and heating engineer but joined the Royal Engineers when war broke out serving in France, North Africa, Italy and Germany before eventually being demobbed in 1946.

Pauline added: "They said in church there was an awful lot of noise and they had to stop a moment to let the noise pass before they carried on.

"Everybody made the most of the moment in those days as they were not sure what was going to happen.

"Some of my dad's stories are amazing and he was telling us about coming through Italy with some Italian prisoners of war.

"One of them asked my dad if he could take a letter to his mum as she hadn't heard from him in three years and might have thought he was dead.

"He took the letter with some mates and managed to find the family and said the joy on their faces made the search worthwhile."

When they were in their sixties, the couple bought a pub in the Bucks countryside which May ran while Harold taught plumbing and heating apprentices.

After retirement they moved back to Lymm and spent six years in Tenerife.

Up until five years ago, they were still spending the first three months of the year in Tenerife and say the secret to their long marriage is doing everything together, having plenty of variety throughout their life and helping each other.

Harold, aged 96 years, and May, aged 98, have three children, six grandchildren and five great grandchildren.