IT might not have been a line you would hear in a classic Hollywood love film.

But for one Oxfordshire couple ‘do you want a fag?’ has led to 60 years of life together.

Joy and Alexander Smith, of Wise Avenue, Kidlington, celebrated their diamond wedding anniversary on Thursday.

They were married at Highfield Church, in Lime Walk, Headington.

Mrs Smith, 83, who calls her 80-year-old husband her “toy boy”, recalled their first meeting at the old Cowley Barracks in Oxford in 1950, when Mr Smith, who grew up in Edinburgh, was serving in the Royal Air Force.

Mrs Smith, nee Hobbs, said: “He walked in wearing his RAF uniform and I thought ‘oh, he’s a bit of alright’. I liked a man in uniform.

“He walked up to me and said ‘do you want a fag?’ “And then he brought this crumpled roll-up from behind his ear. It was horrible.”

The couple, who have three daughters, seven grandchildren and three great-grandchildren did not get to enjoy their anniversary as much as they would have liked, because they have both been unwell.

However, they were looking forward to celebrating at a party today with family and friends.

Mrs Smith said she thought the key to their long marriage was taking their vows seriously.

She said: “Everyone fights now and then, but we love each other, and we love our family.

“When we married, we vowed to stay together until death us do part, and that’s what we believe.”

Main Picture: Damian Halliwell