An encounter near London’s Old Bailey has led to 60 years of married life for a couple.

Victor and Betty Haydon, of Hallowes Park Road, Cullingworth, celebrated their diamond anniversary on September 12. They met when Victor was working as a police officer in 1952. “I was at the Old Bailey when word went round about this manageress in the restaurant opposite being very attractive,” he said.

“We went across and I said to her ‘steak pudding and chips and will you marry me?’”

Despite Betty replying that she was “not on the menu” the pair were married 12 months later.

Victor, 82, from London, has an MBE for his services to toastmastering. He and his wife, 83, managed the Fleece in Shipley, and the Commercial in Pudsey.

The couple have lived in Cullingworth for more than 40 years. They have one son, Gary, who is a captain on a privately-owned luxury yacht in the Mediterranean.