A husband and wife believed to be the oldest married couple in the UK are backing this year’s Telegraph & Argus charity appeal.

Kartari and Karam Chand held a joint birthday party on Saturday to mark their 100th and 107th birthdays respectively.

People came from all over the world to celebrate with the incredible couple, who have applied to Guinness World Records to see if they have the longest marriage in the world.

And their generous family is now having a collection for the Telegraph & Argus’ Children’s Secret Santa Appeal, which is raising money to buy gifts for some of the district’s 37,000 children living in poverty.

The Chands held the party on Saturday at the Ukrainian Hall, Lidget Green. Among the guests was the Lord Mayor of Bradford, Councillor Dale Smith, as well as relatives who had flown in from India and Canada.

And the festivities continued on Sunday, with a less formal bash at the Castle Hotel pub, which is run by the couple’s son, Sat Paul Chand.

He said: “It was wonderful. It’s unbelievable how well it has gone.

“It was great to see how many people made an effort to come, not just locally but internationally. There must have been about 30 people from India.

“The Lord Mayor said he wanted to know their secret – he wanted to live for longer!”

Sat Paul said he would be collecting cash at the pub for the rest of the week to donate to the appeal.

Karam and Kartari Chand were teenagers when they were introduced in their native India.

Earlier this year they celebrated their 86th wedding anniversary.

Mrs Chand turned 100 on November 1 and Mr Chand turned 107 on November 10.

The couple, who have eight children, 27 grandchildren and more than ten great grandchildren, settled in Bradford more than 40 years ago.

The Telegraph & Argus has teamed up with the Human Relief Foundation for the appeal, which began on Friday.

It aims to raise money to provide Christmas presents for deprived youngsters who would otherwise go without.

The HRF has its international headquarters at Claremont in Great Horton.