A couple who worked together on a regional daily have celebrated 60 years of marriage.

Colin and Mavis Beattie, formerly of the Hartlepool Mail, marked their diamond wedding anniversary with a family visit to the church where they married.

Colin worked as a compositor and later sub-editor for the Hartlepool Mail before retirement, while Mavis had several stints working as a receptionist.

The couple, both now 83, met at a dance in Hartlepool and tied the knot in September 1957.

Colin and Mavis Beattie on their wedding day, left, and at the same church last month

They have two children, Alastair, 58, and Jane, 55, and are also grandparents to Alastair’s daughters Jill, 24, and Kate, 19.

As well as a visit to the church where they married, the family had a meal at Hartlepool Marina.

Jill told the Mail: “They had a big do for their 50th wedding anniversary, but we haven’t done anything like that this time.

“These days, they just love spending time with their family. My grandad was really into his gardening years ago, but not as much now.”

Speaking about the church visit, she added: “They said the place is so different to what it was back then, but that it brought back a lot of memories for them both.”