Six decades after first meeting during a chance encounter at a party, childhood sweethearts Bill and Beryl Haigh, have finally made their partnership official, tying the knot in an intimate ceremony after their love began to blossom once again in their later years.

Although their lives had taken them in very different directions following their first courtship, the close bond of friendship always remained strong between Bill and Beryl, and the relationship was eventually cemented when they decided to move in together at McCarthy & Stone’s Wingfield Court in Sherborne.

Beryl, 78, said: “I first met Bill when we were both 17 at a party and we struck up a friendship quite quickly. We went on the odd date but he had girlfriends and I had boyfriends, however, we always kept in touch as friends. Eventually our careers led us to places, and while I chose to stay in Manchester, Bill moved away to join the Merchant Navy.

“We both married other people during this time, but stayed in touch as friends throughout.”

It then wasn’t until nearly 50 years after they first met they decided it was time for them to be together permanently.

Beryl added: “We began seeing each other on a more regular basis and we took it from there. In time, we decided to move to Devon as it’s somewhere we’d always loved and we’d had 12 happy years together before we decided we wanted to get married, which we actually did last month, after all these years!

“It was a small and intimate ceremony, but it felt really momentous after it took us such a long time to get here. There were a lot of missed opportunities for us but now the time was just right and we’re all the better for it.”