POOLE care home residents have been celebrating enduring love on Valentine’s Day.

Peter and Rosemary Stevens who have been married for 58 years enjoyed a romance-filled Valentine’s lunch.

Rosemary spends respite time at The Aldbury in Ringwood Road, Poole every Tuesday with Peter acting as her full-time carer.

The home transformed one of its lounges into a romantic restaurant, with tables decorated with roses and chocolates and carers acting as waiting staff.

Residents invited their wives, husbands or partners to join them for lunch.

They were served fizz and canapès, followed by a meal of chicken with Stilton sauce and meringue nests with strawberries and cream.

Rosemary and Peter met at the St Aldhelm’s drama group in Poole during their teenage years and married at St Aldhelm’s Church in 1962.

They have two daughters and four grandsons.

Peter, a retired engineer, said: “The lunch has been lovely, with delicious food and music and we have had a lovely time.

“I’m not the most romantic man, but the staff have certainly gone to a huge effort, with roses, chocolates and balloons, and there has been a lovely atmosphere.”

Rosemary, who was a teaching assistant at a school for the deaf for 28-years before she retired, added: “The dessert was especially delicious and I have some beautiful roses to take home with me.”