A LAKE District couple have celebrated their diamond wedding by renewing their vows at a surprise ceremony.

Ron and Nora Holland, of Clappersgate, married 60 years ago having met two years earlier at a supper dance in Chester just after the Queen’s Coronation.

Their daughter Sue Robinson, 53, surprised the pair at a family get together with a renewal conducted by the vicar of Brathay Church.

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It was followed by lunch at the Nanny Brow before they spent the afternoon on a private charter boat on Windermere.

“I knew they still loved each other as much as when they first met, and they absolutely loved it,” saidMs Robinson.

“My father, although not very well, managed all his vows and held mum’s hand. There wasn’t a dry eye in the congregation.”

The couple put their long and happy marriage down to ‘give and take’, ‘love’ and ‘never going to bed on an argument’.

The devoted pair, who have two children and four grandchildren, asked for those attending their anniversary to donate rather than give presents and raised £145 for Windermere First Responders and £140 for the Langdale and Ambleside Mountain Rescue Team.

A Lieutenant Officer in the Royal Navy during the Second World War, 88-year-old Mr Holland later worked as a chartered civil engineer before retiring 25 years ago.

Mrs Holland, 83, worked as a secretary for the Nat West bank and Shell Stanlow.

The couple keep active by walking and have both become regular members of The Evergreen Club in Ambleside.

Mr Holland also enjoys gliding, walking, building model boats and caravaning and has been a dedicated Mason since his early 20s. His wife enjoys knitting and sewing, tennis and is an accomplished artist.