THIS picture from our archives shows how a chance meeting on the top of a tram led to sixty years of married bliss for a Blackburn couple.

When Miss Alice Schofield bumped into Mr John Hodson in 1907 on Railway Road, little did she know that she'd be celebrating her diamond wedding anniversary more than half a century later.

Two years after meeting, Alice and John married, and in April 1969 they were getting ready to hold a party to mark the special occasion.

Mrs Hodson said: "It will be a small get together for the family and a few close friends."

The couple, who lived in Burnley Road in Blackburn, married at Furthergate Congregational Church with Mr Hodson's brother, William, acting as groomsman.

Mrs Hodson added: "It was a very grand affair, I was taken to the church in a white silk covered landua drawn by a pair of white horses."

Mr Hodson said his wedding was slightly different to the weddings of the sixties and mentioned it wasn't just ceremonies that had changed, but trades too.

Joining his grandfather's boat building firm when he was 14-years-old he eventually became the head of T.J.Hodson, Blackburn, but sadly the company closed down when he retired in 1966.