Sharing is the key to a successful marriage according to a Teignmouth couple who celebrate their platinum wedding anniversary this week.

Pauline and Tony Bidmead were married on July 16 1955; two years after meeting at the local hop in Woolston, Southampton.

‘Everything has always been ours,’ said Pauline. ‘It’s never been his or her money, we’ve always shared everything,’ Tony added.

The couple were just 16 when they met. They got engaged a year later and married at 18. ‘One or two people at the time commented that they didn’t suppose it would last,’ Pauline recalled with a wry smile.

Jennifer, their daughter, was born a year after the wedding.

Tony served in the RAF and the family accompanied him on his postings around the world spending time in Germany, Cyprus and Northern Ireland.

He demobbed after 22 years of service and worked for Pearl Assurance. Pauline worked for the Folland Aircraft company, which produced the Folland Knat used by the Red Arrows between 1964 and 1979, and then for the Inland Revenue.

The couple are as generous to others as they are to each other and have raised tens of thousands of pounds for charities. Daredevil Tony completed a wing walk at the age of 65 and did a tandem parachute jump at the age of 70.

The couple retired to Teignmouth in 2017 and will be celebrating their 70th wedding anniversary at a party with friends and family.