When Dennis Parsons complained there were no good looking girls in King’s Lynn his grandmother sent him to the village shop in Pott Row - and that is where he first laid eyes on Joy.

Now, the couple are preparing to celebrate their 65th wedding anniversary on April 27, a relationship that has seen them remain in their Stibbard property since the day they tied the knot.

Mr Parsons, who had just finished his national service and training in the army, saw him spend two years down in Cornwall.

When he moved back to Norfolk he didn’t see anyone who caught his eye until he met Joy, who was working as a shopping assistant in the village shop.

He asked her out, and the pair's first date was a trip to the pictures, to see what they described as “a bad western".

From there, the pair never had eyes for anyone else.

They had to wait until they found a home before marrying, and it wasn’t until a family friend of Mrs Parsons said they had property in the village near Fakenham and asked if they wanted to buy it.

They got the house in January 1957 and married in April, at the Pott Row Methodist Chapel.

“I could just tell with Joy,” Mr Parsons said.

“You get that natural feeling when you know, and I never knew how it felt before Joy.

“I have been blessed to have so many special days with her, from the birth of our boys to watching the family grow.”

Mr and Mrs Parsons had two boys, Nicholas and Simon. They are now grandparents to four, and even recently became great grandparents.

From there the couple have spent their lives giving back, with Mr Parsons working as a County Councillor between 1981 until 1998, having previously worked in the water industry.

Water was also in Mrs Parsons's life, having a job training children to swim and Fakenham Junior School.

“We’ve done everything together,” she added.

“Whether it’s mixing cement or holding a hammer, or helping around the house, we would always be each other’s assistant, and I think that is the secret to our long marriage.”

The couple is planning to mark the blue sapphire anniversary with a trip to Morrisons for something to eat, as well as picking up the weekly shop.