LOVE is the simple secret to success for a couple celebrating their diamond wedding anniversary today.

Leslie and Pam Webb, of Covingham, have both spent their lives in Swindon.

They are delighted to be celebrating their 60th anniversary and feel just the same for each other as they always have.

“I love her to bits and she still takes care of me,” said Leslie, 85. “I loved her the day I first saw her and still do to this day.”

The couple were both born in Gorse Hill but Leslie moved to Rodbourne when he was six.

Leslie first met Pam, 84, when he was 15 and working for the removal company Pickfords.

He said: “I left school when I was 14 and went to work with my father in furniture removal.

“One thing we removal men liked was a cup of tea and Pam was working in the cafe we used to go to.”

Leslie was called up for national service in France and Germany.

When he left, he carried on working for Pickfords and in 1951 started courting Pam.

His work took him from Scotland to Bournemouth, leaving him away from home for weeks at a time.

“I had had girlfriends before but because so few people had a telephone at the time I could not talk to them and kept missing dates,” said Leslie.

“There was a phone at the cafe where Pam worked so I could tell her where I was.”

The couple wed in 1953 at St Barnabas Church in Gorse Hill.

Leslie worked for more than 30 years as a crane operator for car manufacturer Pressed Steel and Pam spent 20 years working part time at a bakery.

The couple have two children, Susan, 58, and Nigel, 55, and six grandchildren, Adam, Emma, Daniel, Martin, Jonathon and Charlotte. They also have nine great-grandchildren.

Pam said: “We are a very close-knit family. We have tea together every fortnight and regularly speak to those who live further away.”

The pair still lead active lives.

Leslie said: “About 10 years ago I had a heart attack and the medics told Pam I was gone.

“But I lived and it’s given me a much more positive outlook on life.

“I always used to worry about things but now I’m a lot more relaxed.”

Pam knits doyleys and Christmas decorations to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support and Prospect Hospice, while Leslie is still keen on model airplanes.

They are going out for a quiet meal together tonight and had a celebration last Saturday with more than 100 family and friends.