A Ledbury couple celebrated their golden wedding anniversary this week looking forward to a belated honeymoon in Austria.

Poppy and Cliff Minchin, of Newbury Park, are no strangers to travel, having visited America several times and collected passport stamps for Canada, Italy, Spain, Portugal and the former Yugoslavia, among others.

But their forthcoming seven-day holiday to Salzburg will be the icing on their anniversary cake.

The couple first met in Much Marcle in 1950, when Cliff was 15 and Poppy, 13. Mr Minchin said: "I was riding through the village, saw her and I was smitten. It was love at first sight for me."

The couple tied the knot at Ledbury Register Office on January 6, 1955, but did not have a honeymoon at the time.

Mrs Minchin worked at Ledbury Preserves for 20 years and Mr Minchin, 70, still works part-time as an agricultural engineer for Bavenhill Mechanics at Preston Cross, where he has been for almost four decades.

Tractors are a major interest for him, followed by aircraft, and he is is proud of his own aviation photographs, including Concorde. Mrs Minchin likes gardening and collecting teapots.

The couple have two children, Rosemary and Stewart, five grandchildren and one great-grandchild. They celebrated their 50th with a meal at Black Pepper and there will be a party for family and friends at Ledbury Rugby Club this weekend.