LAUGHING a lot and working together is the key to a happy marriage according to a couple celebrating 60 years of wedded bliss.

Pat and Tom Allen have already enjoyed a garden party with friends and neighbours as part of their Diamond Wedding anniversary celebrations.

And they have also planned a short holiday with their family to mark the occasion.

Pat, 80, and 84-year-old Tom, who live in Wick village, retired to Dorset from Rainham in Essex, where they ran their own building company.

They have two children, Teresa and Mark, and two grandsons, Scott and Paul.

Pat told the Daily Echo: “We have always worked together, both in the business and at home, and I think that’s what has made our marriage a success.

“When we started the business I did most of the office work while Tom ran other parts of the business. We are both still happy to do a bit of everything and Tom is particularly good at ironing.”

She said around 40 people attended the garden party and that 22 family members are booked for a trip to Somerset.

The couple met when they were just 18 and 22-years-old and married two years later in Essex.