A STRAY dart and a shattered pint glass led to 60 years of marital bliss for an Oxford couple.

Jean and Reg Costar are today celebrating their diamond wedding anniversary.

The couple, who live in Wood Farm, met at the Rock of Gibraltar pub near Kidlington in 1950.

Mrs Costar, nee Saxton, said: “We used to go on little village club coach trips. We were in the pub and I was having a glass of cider with my friends – I was only 16 so I wasn’t really supposed to be drinking.”

Mr Costar, 84, continued: “ I was playing darts to pass the time and one came out of the board. It must have hit a wire or something.

“Anyway, it flew across the room and hit her glass of cider and smashed it. So obviously I had to go and offer her a new drink.”

Four years later, in 1954, the couple married at St Andrew’s Church in Old Headington.

Mrs Costar, 79, said: “It was lovely, but they played the wrong music as I was walking down the aisle!”

The couple have three children, Sandra, Tony and Neil, and four grandchildren. They agree that raising their family has been the best thing about their 60 year relationship.

Mrs Costar, a former auxiliary nurse who worked at the John Radcliffe and Churchill hospitals in Oxford, said: “The best thing has been having grandchildren and seeing my children happily married.”

Mr Costar, a retired engineer who worked at AW Clarke Engineering in Littlemore for 21 years, added: “It changed me, bringing up the family. It’s always exciting to bring something new into the world.”

Both Mr and Mrs Costar have spent their entire lives in Oxford, and their children have followed in their footsteps.

Mrs Costar said: “I was born in Cutteslowe and grew up in Barton. Reg was born and bred in Headington.

“We never wanted to leave Oxford, our kids all live here too. Sandra lives in Rose Hill, Tony in Cowley and Neil in Sandhills.”

When asked if they had any tips for young couples, Mrs Costar said: “Give and take, caring and sharing. Reg is a lovely bloke, a proper gentleman. I wouldn’t change a thing about him.”