A COUPLE of Widnes dancers are about to kick off their shoes to celebrate their diamond wedding anniversary.

Jack and Olive Kirchin met at a dance in 1939 and have been together ever since.

Olive grew up in Egypt Street and attended Simms Cross after spending most of her childhood being treated for tuberculosis.

She learned to dance in a pair of ICI works rubber boots!

Jack lived on Doward Street and went to Warrington Boys school.

The couple met at a dance at the ICI Recreation Club when Olive was 16 and Jack was 18.

Olive said: "He came across to me - the girls sat on one side and the boys on the other - and he said to me 'are you getting up or what?'

"I said: 'well, all right'!"

The couple have kept dancing ever since and still go along to the recreation club and Widnes and Runcorn's Masonic Halls.

Jack and Olive have four children, Phillip, Linda, Hazel and Andrew, and six grandchildren.

Their 60th wedding anniversary is on August 28 and they are due a telegram from the Queen.

Olive said: "I was asked recently what did I attribute a long term marriage to, and I said we have always put our children before anything, they have always been number one in our lives.

"We have had our ups and downs but that's normal life. You don't have to fall at the first hurdle, that is the thing. We are still very happy with each other, and that's all that matters isn't it?"