DENNIS and Maisie Rose, who celebrated 60 years of marriage on New Year’s Day, say the key to a long and happy marriage is laughter.

The couple met in the former Five Alls pub in Chippenham after a coach trip for a darts match.

Mrs Rose, 80, said: “What first attracted me to him was that he was such a funny and happy person. He asked me out that night and we were married within a year.”

The pair married on New Year’s Day 1955 in St Mary’s Church in Calne.

A poet from the local pub wrote them a special poem for the wedding, of which 86-year-old Mr Rose still has a copy.

Speaking about the longevity of his marriage, he said: “We both feel sure that a mutual sense of humour has been a great asset to help us cope with the usual mixture of life’s problems. I think we must have spent 30 of those 60 years laughing.”

Mrs Rose said: “We are always together so we tend to laugh at each other and always see the funny side.”

Mrs Rose originally came from Lambeth in London and was evacuated to Wiltshire during the Second World War with her family.

Mr Rose moved to Wiltshire when he was five as his father was originally from Bromham and moved back to the area to find work as a carpenter.

The couple moved to Bromham when they got married and have lived in the village ever since. They still live in the family home in Yard Lane where their three children grew up.

The couple have three children Denise, 56, Phillip, 54, and Paul, 52, seven grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.

Before having children Mrs Rose worked in the office of Rawlings and Phillips and Mr Rose was a painter and decorator. Mr Rose had his own business and when he retired in 2000 the business was taken over by his son Phillip.

The couple have always enjoyed taking coach trips around the UK and Mr Rose has had a lifetime passion for gardening, something he still enjoys.

On their anniversary the couple celebrated with their family at the Wellesley Arms in Sutton Benger, granddaughter Carrie-Ann, 25, treating them to a ride in a vintage car, the same one as they had on their wedding day.