LIFE on an East Yorkshire farm brought a young couple together - and they are still married 70 years later.

Norman and Florence Houseman, aged 90 and 87 respectively, celebrated their platinum wedding today with a family party at the nursing home in Stamford Bridge where Mr Houseman now lives. Mrs Houseman, who lives in Pocklington, said her husband used to work for his father's corn threshing machine business, and he used to visit her father's farm regularly.

Their romance blossomed and they married young when she was just 17 and he was 20, moving into a house in Aughton, East Yorkshire.

They started a family soon afterwards and now have three sons, George, Brian and Roland, nine grandchildren, 18 great grandchildren and one great great grandchild. The whole family was getting together for a big party at the nursing home today. Mrs Houseman said she was excited about celebrating such an amazing achievement.

She said: "I never thought it would happen, 70 years.

"We got married young, or we wouldn't have achieved it. We have our occasional arguments, but we just get on with things."

The couple have never been on holiday because Mr Houseman did not like to stay away from home overnight, and it meant that they even missed out on a honeymoon.

But, Mrs Houseman said, they enjoyed many day trips and excursions around the country and have had a very happy life together.

She said: "We used to go on quite a lot of trips on Sundays to the seaside, or to the Dales or the Moors.

"I used to be in the Women's Institute so I've been to Scotland and Wales with them."

Updated: 10:17 Saturday, March 30, 2002