Support quality, independent, local journalism…that matters

From just £1 a month you can help fund our work – and use our website without adverts. Become a member today

A Caerphilly couple have celebrated their diamond wedding anniversary during lockdown.

Former milkman Phil James, 80, and wife Sandra, 76, marked the occasion with a home-cooked lobster supper and champagne, while they met with family members using video calling technology.

The couple met when Phil was a British Rail ticket clerk and Sandra was buying a season ticket for her daily trip to work from Llanbradach to Cardiff.

Phil and Sandra got married at the registrar’s office in Cardiff on January 28, 1961 and have since had three children, three grandchildren, two step-grandchildren and four great-grandchildren – with a fifth due in June.

After working for British Rail, Phil worked as a fitter in Bedwas Colliery and jointly-owned and ran a local a bus company.

Sandra supported Phil in the running of his business and delivered Meals on Wheels throughout Caerphilly County Borough for a number of years.

After the couple married in 1961, they lived on Coed y Brain Road, Llanbradach, with Sandra’s parents – before moving into their first home together in Penyrheol, where they brought up their children.

In 1987, Phil and Sandra moved to Abertridwr, where they built their own house on Cae Bryn, before downsizing and moving back to Caerphilly seven years ago.

Throughout their marriage, Phil and Sandra have enjoyed holidays across the UK, particularly to Brean with their caravan, as well as to Portugal.

The couple’s daughter, Kathy Clement, said: “They have been a great support over many years to all their family, and in recent years to each other during the inevitable health challenges they have both faced.

“Sandra now spends her time spoiling all her family, tending her garden and watching and feeding the birds, while Phil enjoys tending his greenhouse and vegetable patch.”