Seventy-two years after tying the knot, George and Phyllis Nutburn still look back and laugh about the drama that unfolded in the early hours of their wedding day which led to the groom almost arriving late.

The Lowestoft couple, both now 93, celebrated their 72nd wedding anniversary last Friday, January 12, but Mrs Nutburn said their marriage should have been unlucky from the start as they broke the old tradition of seeing each other on their wedding morning.

Mr Nutburn was already two days late catching the ferry to Hull with his best man due to cancellations caused by the bad weather. He said: 'When I finally arrived in Hull I caught a train to London to meet my sister and I had sent her a telegram from the ship to tell her to meet me at platform two at Waterloo Station. But the telegram put it into roman numerals so she thought it said platform 11. I waited and waited but eventually I had to catch the newspaper train and she had to catch the milk train. I arrived in Lowestoft at 2am and she arrived at 4am.'

Mrs Nutburn added: 'I had to get out of bed with my hair in rollers and take him to where he was staying at 2am on our wedding day and just as I got back into bed his sister arrived too.

'They say it won't last if you see each other on your wedding day!'

The couple were married at the old Methodist church in Lowestoft in 1946 after meeting at a fun fair.

Mrs Nutburn was born in Lowestoft but was evacuated to Irthlingborough in Northamptonshire in the Second World War, where the couple later met. Mr Nutburn, originally from Southampton, joined the army and was stationed in Aberdeen, but was sent to Finedon, about two miles from Irthlingborough, to recuperate from diesel poisoning.

Mrs Nutburn said: 'We just had enough time together to know that it was going to be special.'

Together they have two sons, Mervyn and Phillip, as well as four grandsons, four great-granddaughters and one great-great-grandson.

They moved back to Lowestoft in the early 1980s, with Mr Nutburn still a member of the Probus Club, having been president for 15 years.

They celebrated their anniversary with a meal at the Hotel Victoria.

Mrs Nutburn said: 'My mother always said if you feel angry about something, don't say it leave it for a little while and if you still feel you need to say something go into another room and say it.

Mr Nutburn added: 'I don't have one single regret in our marriage. We are really grateful for what we've had.'