THEY met on a blind date and today Brenda and Michael Beaumont are marking 50 years of married life.

The York couple were introduced on a night out to the Grand Cinema in Gillygate by friends, who were also dating, and it proved to be a life-changing evening as it led to two marriages.

Brenda, 72, and Michael, 73, of Huntington, where they have lived since they were married, were today celebrating their golden wedding anniversary with a party at New Earswick Bowls Club, having tied the knot at St Hilda’s Church in Tang Hall on June 9, 1962.

They have two children, Stephen and Amanda, and four grandchildren – Vicki, Emily, William and Charlotte – and their devotion to each other has seen Brenda act as the main carer for former plumber Michael, who suffers from multiple sclerosis and has been in a wheelchair since he was 30, throughout their married years.

“We have always been very happy together and we wouldn’t change anything at all,” said Brenda.