ALF Smith is a man who believes in the direct approach regarding the opposite sex.

Some 60 years ago he literally bumped into the woman of his dreams while rollerskating at the Milton Road rink in Swindon.

And on Thursday the couple celebrate their diamond wedding anniversary.

Alf's wife Margaret, 80, of Southbrook Street: "He knocked me over and then tried to teach me skating. The only trouble was, he couldn't skate himself."

Alf was serving in the RAF at Lyneham when the couple met in January, 1942, and Margaret was working at the Shorts aircraft factory in Ferndale Road.

They wed in September 1942 at Holy Rood Church, and had a reception at Margaret's mum's house in Ferndale Road before honeymooning for a week in Harlow, where it was "very cold and windy".

The couple briefly moved to London but settled in Swindon and lived in Moredon before moving to Ferndale.

"One of the things important for a long marriage is helping one another about the house," said Margaret.

Alf, 81, added: "Margaret's one of the best. I wouldn't swap her well, only for a younger model and I wouldn't know what to do anyway."

The couple have three children, eight grand-children and nine great grand-children.