THEY used to say Double Diamond works wonders, well that is certainly true for one Mylor Bridge couple who this month celebrate 70 years of marriage.

Len and Margaret Simpson got married at Little Hayfield Chapel in Derbyshire on March 20, 1937 just before the outbreak of World War Two. For any married couple to celebrate your diamond wedding anniversary is a milestone, to do it twice is nothing short of a miracle.

The couple met while attending Sunday school in the Peak District village. Margaret used to take holidays at her grandfather's farm and met her future husband during a Christmas carol service in the village.

After they got married they moved to Bollington in Cheshire where Len worked in textile printing and paper conversion.

The couple's link to Cornwall started when Len was posted at Portreath for the RAF from 1943 until the end of the war. They made some great friends during that time and vowed that they would move back to Cornwall once they had retired.

Once they had retired in 1976 they moved to their house on Lemon Hill, Mylor Bridge where they have lived ever since.

Both Margaret and Len became heavily involved in the local community including the Mylor Ladies Choir, Mylor Methodist Chapel, Mylor Christmas lights committee and Margaret, 88, even set up a local art group with artists Peter Clarke.

The couple said that the 31 years they have spent in Mylor has been some of the happiest of their lives. Len said: "Mylor is a wonderful place and we have been made to feel so welcome. We are very lucky to be able to live in such a beautiful part of the country."

Len, also celebrates his 96th birthday this month can still be seen out in his dinghy fishing for mackerel and when asked what the secret to their long and happy marriage was, he said: "Keep busy and if you can find a place like Mylor to live in it helps. We have a lot of friends and we are always out and about and I think that is what keeps us going."

Mr and Mrs Simpson will be holding an open house on March 20 to celebrate their 70th anniversary and will be joined by their family including their three children, Judith, Gillian and John, their six grandchildren and seven great grandchildren.