AFTER 70 years of happy marriage, Edna Hill has a few words of advice for those hoping to emulate her and her husband, Len.

"Never forget to say those three famous words I love you," she said.

"Every night before we go to bed we always say that to each other. Before I go to sleep, that's always the last thing I say."

The pair, who live at Lark Hill retirement village in Clifton, are celebrating their platinum wedding anniversary today.

Mrs Hill said she felt very lucky.

"I've never wanted to be with anyone else," she said.

The pair met through their work in the city's then-flourishing textiles industry.

Mrs Hill, now 88, worked for a clothing company in Traffic Street in The Meadows, while Mr Hill worked for dyers and finishers in Lenton.

He said: "I used to have to take material in to her work and that's how we got talking.

"She was from Durham originally and had moved to Bulwell when she was only 15 to work.

"We both lived in Bulwell at the time and got talking about that because she said she didn't know where Bulwell Market was.

"I couldn't believe she lived there and didn't know it, so I wouldn't believe her at first; I thought she was pulling my leg.

"I was very suspicious!"

Mrs Hill, née Allsop, said: "I used to have to speak to all the drivers when they came in with deliveries, but we got on very well. He was single and I was single and that was that really."

Eventually Mr Hill, now 90, plucked up the courage to ask her out and the pair got married two years later at the register office in Shakespeare Street on March 9, 1940.

Mr Hill, who was called up in 1939, said: "The idea was to get married before I got sent away, but as it happened I didn't go overseas for quite some time."

Eventually he was posted to North Africa in 1943, then Sicily, Italy and Austria before returning to be with his wife at their home in Bulwell.

The couple have lived in Bilborough, Aspley, Strelley and Bulwell over the last seven decades.

They moved to Lark Hill in September. Mrs Hill has had several strokes and lost her sight and needs regular visits from carers.

The couple plan to celebrate their anniversary with a party at the village hall tonight.

They have six children – three girls and three boys – 11 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren.

Mr Hill said the secret to a lasting marriage was a mixture of "give and take" and patience.

sarah.gillett@nottinghameveningpost.co.uk