Many couples have shared loving glances across the aisle, but for pensioners Richard Whitehead and Enid Banham it was the aisle of a coach and it led to marriage neither was expecting to find in their later years.

Lifelong bachelor and retired pharmacist Richard met his bride-to-be, Enid, a widow and mother of three grown-up children, on a bus bound for Scotland.

And it was a mix-up in who was sitting where on the National Express coach that opened the door on another journey they never expected.

The chance exchange of words about the mistake on the trip to a dancing holiday in Scotland in 1999, eventually led to them plighting their troth.

It all started when Richard, now 84, from Steeton, near Keighley, boarded the bus at Steeton. Enid, who was brought up in Rawden but had spent most of her adult life in Bacup, Lancashire, had caught the coach with her sister in Bradford.

Richard politely pointed out to Enid what he thought was an error in the seating arrangements.

Her reply - "Just sit yourself down next to me and I'm sure everything will be fine!" - proved to be more significant that either expected.

Once Richard settled into his seat the conversation began to flow and they immediately realised how much they took pleasure in each other's company.

During their holiday they spent time together, enjoying the occasional dance, and when it eventually came to an end they decided to continue their promising friendship. Because Enid lived in Bacup, visiting one another proved difficult to continue so they made the decision to get married.

They walked down the aisle at Steeton Methodist Church in April 2000 - Richard was 76 and Enid, 70.

Enid, who is now 77, said: "We should have got married earlier, but our wedding with family and friends around us was a joyous occasion."

"I've learnt from our experience to always expect the unexpected.

"I would never have imagined that when I stepped on that coach I would have met the man I would marry but it just goes to show love can happen to you anytime and anywhere!"

According to a survey by National Express, Enid and Richard are not the only lucky couple to be brought together by coach travel.

The survey of 2,000 travellers showed that one in 30 people across the UK have met someone special across the aisle, while one in 15 have made long-term friendships.

National Express spokesman Karen Beasley said: "We always like to hear about real-life stories that happen on our coaches and Enid and Richard's story was certainly one that we wanted to share.

"It just goes to show the experiences people can have on coaches all in the course of one journey!"