TRUSTING one another, a spirit of give and take and being in love are the secrets of a long and happy marriage.

These are the beliefs of Ethel and Sam Bradwell of Kinmel Bay, who will have been together for 70 years on Monday June 26

Ethel said: “We met when I was 16. On weekends I worked in an ice cream kiosk in Garton Way, Manchester, and one day Sam bought an ice cream from me. That was the beginning of our long and loving relationship.

“A year later we became engaged and a year after that we married. He had been called up to do his National Service in the Army and was on a fortnight’s embarkation leave before sailing for East Africa.

“He said we should get married before he sailed. So we did, and tied the knot in Manchester Registry Office.

We then went on honeymoon in Mottram in Cheshire, and then he went away for 18 months.“

Sam became a long distance lorry driver after his National Service and when retirement loomed they moved to Kinmel Bay.

Sam and Ethel have had nine children, 14 grandchildren and nine great grandchildren.

Ethel puts the success of their relationship down to trusting one another and give and take.

Sam simply said: “I’m very much in love with her, and I’m lucky in love.”