WHAT began with a dance floor encounter has led to 60 years happy marriage for this Ipswich diamond-wedding couple.Irene and Reginald De'ath, of Tern Road, Ipswich, first met at a dance that was held during the dark days of World War Two.

WHAT began with a dance floor encounter has led to 60 years happy marriage for this Ipswich diamond-wedding couple.

Irene and Reginald De'ath, of Tern Road, Ipswich, first met at a dance that was held during the dark days of World War Two.

Two years later they decided that they had found a partner for life.

However, before they tied the knot, the couple found that chances to see one another were very fleeting.

Irene explains: "Reginald was in the army during the war and so the only time we could see each other was when he was on leave – and that was every three months."

Despite this they stayed together and finally got married at St Matthews Church in Ipswich on April 11, 1942.

"It was a nice, warm sunny day, recalls Irene, 84. "We had a reception although food was short due to the rations of the war years."

After leaving the army, Reginald, now 87, spent most of his working life as a delivery driver. They have spent all their married life living in Ipswich.

The couple have one son, John, 58, and one daughter, Julie, 55, as well as four granddaughters and four great-grandchildren.

Celebrations for the happy occasion were spent with a family meal at the Oyster Reach in Wherstead on Saturday.