Friendship is the most important ingredient for 70 years of long and happy marriage, according to Frederic and Catherine Stevens.

And they should know, having celebrated their platinum wedding anniversary this week.

Married in 1930 at Trinity Church, Frome, the couple met five years earlier in Trowbridge.

Frederic, 92, said the courtship between the couple, which lasted five years, could be easily summed up.

"We met each other, we liked each other, so we stayed together," he said.

Catherine, who is also 92, is now cared for full time by her husband, as she suffers from a disease which affects her short term memory.

The couple met in Trowbridge in 1925, just a few years after the end of the First World War.

At the time the future Mrs Stevens was living in Frome and Mr Stevens was living in Trowbridge.

Frederic says he can't clearly remember the day they met, but says they must have got on because they kept seeing each other for the next five years, before marrying in 1930.

A few years after the marriage, he started working on the railways in Swindon and the couple moved to the town, where they still live in Rodbourne Cheney.

Frederic said: "We still get on fine and our marriage today is as strong as it ever was.

"We are still very good friends and I think we always will be."

The couple had three children, Graham, Christine and Geoffrey. Geoffrey died when he was 33 in an accident at work.

They also have six grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.

They celebrated the landmark anniversary with the minimum of fuss, staying at home and enjoying their time together.