A Dereham couple insist having patience and compromising with each other is the secret to 60 years of happy marriage.

Terry and Shirley Weller reached the six-decade milestone on November 25, before being joined by family two days later to celebrate.

The pair, who live in Colin McClean Road, both grew up in north London and first met in 1959.

Mr Weller was working as a bricklayer on a building site when, one morning, he spotted his wife-to-be walking past.

They soon started courting and would regularly go dancing together.

"I suppose it must have worked," said Mrs Weller.

"We went out together and things went from there."

Before long they were engaged but, in the meantime, Mr Weller was called up to do his national service in 1960.

Shirley waited at home for her groom to return from Germany, and in November of 1961 they got married. A few months later, Mr Weller was demobilised.

Over the next few years, the newlyweds spent time living in Islington and then Hackney, before Shirley fell pregnant with their first child, Julie.

This, they decided, represented the right time to move away from London and start a family somewhere quieter.

After house-hunting in Essex and Suffolk, they ended up in Norfolk and settled in Aylsham.

They had their second child, Robert, in 1973, and also made the move to Dereham - where they have remained ever since.

Over the years, Mr Weller spent time working as a bricklaying instructor, initially in prison and then at skills centres across the region. Mrs Weller also went to work after her husband's family moved up to Norfolk, allowing them to take on some of the babysitting duties.

In his spare time, Mr Weller is a keen golfer and has played at Dereham Golf Club for 40 years.

The couple have enjoyed coach trips abroad together, and have even taken to the skies to brave a spot of microlighting.

Looking back on 60 happy years of marriage, Mrs Weller revealed "patience is key".

She said: "We have our moments - everybody does. But not everyone is the same in their way of thinking, so you have to compromise.

"That is how we have got on in life. It is about give and take."

Asked for his own take, Mr Weller added: "I could not agree more."