IT WAS love at first sight when John and Betty Berry met on a summer afternoon in 1950.

Mr Berry, then 20, pulled up on his motorbike while a 17-year-old Mrs Berry – then Miss Cox – sat with a friend in a garden in what is now Bonn Square.

Today, the couple, from Kidlington, are celebrating their diamond wedding anniversary and say their marriage has been made up of years of laughter and happiness.

Mr Berry, now 83, said he and his wife just “hit it off” straight away and Mrs Berry, 80, added they just “clicked” from day one.

The couple married on July 16, 1955, in the Church of St Peter-le-Bailey in New Inn Hall Street, Oxford.

Mr Berry, a former car mechanic, said: “She looked beautiful when I saw her on that day. It was love at first sight as they say. We just hit it off straight away. We have just been made for each other.

“We have enjoyed every moment together, the children being born, raising them and the family holidays to Butlins.”

Recalling their first meeting, Mrs Berry said: “ I was just sat with a friend and John came up on a motorbike and gave us a ride on it. He asked me if I would like to go out and we have been together ever since.

“I remember our wedding day was absolutely gorgeous. The sun was shining and it was just a lovely day for us.”

Mrs Berry added the secret of them making it to the milestone was that they share everything with each other. She said: “We both still enjoy a good laugh with each other. We just get on so well.”

Before they were married, Mr Berry spent two years doing National Service in the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers in Egypt.

Mrs Berry, who worked in the office of the car factory in Cowley, said: “I used to receive letters from John when he was away on National Service. He came back in 1954 and then we got married in 1955. We bought our first home in Marston for £850 and John worked every day for six weeks so we could get it. About year later we moved to Kidlington and we have been here ever since.”

Mr Berry worked for 24 years at the Pressed Steel plant in Cowley before working in the renal unit of the Churchill Hospital repairing kidney machines for 17 years before retiring.

Mrs Berry gave birth to daughter Jane in 1956 and son Stephen in 1959 and the family enjoyed a happy life in The Moors, Kidlington.

The couple also have three granddaughters, one grandson and a great granddaughter. Today they will be joined by 80 guests to celebrate their day.