A pair of great-grandparents have proved romance has no age limit – by celebrating their 72nd wedding anniversary with a candle-lit meal for two in a nursing home.

Molly and Fred Hedger, 90 and 93 respectively, sat down to their favourite meal of fish and chips to celebrate the special day at the Westerleigh Nursing Home in Seaford.

Staff– directed by Fred – bought flowers, a new framed photo of the couple and lit candles before calling round his devoted wife, Molly.

She said: “It was beautiful. A real day to remember, I will never forget it as long as I live.

“Fred has been there for nearly a year and he is so happy.

“I come and see him every day. The girls are brilliant, they always have a smile for us.

“They spoil him to be honest.”

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Molly, from Newhaven, met Fred, from nearby Piddinghoe, shortly before the war.

She was out on a walk when she bumped into a work friend who was with her husband to be.

She added: “I remember it very well. We were down by the river and there was Fred. That was it really and we’ve been together ever since.”

They married in September 1941 at St Michael’s Newhaven surrounded by their friends and family.

“I was wearing pink. I didn’t like the look of a white dress because I was very blonde.

“Fred I remember was very handsome. It was before he joined the navy so he was in his civilian clothes.”

Fred joined the navy soon after and following the Second World War they bought a house in Newhaven – where they have lived ever since.

They had a son, David, who sadly died aged 49, and now have three grandchildren and seven great grandchildren.

“We are very lucky really.

“Fred looks as happy when I arrive as when I leave. That is a huge reassurance for me. You can’t put a price on that. They are all wonderful.”

But after 72 years of wedded bliss, what exactly is the secret?

Molly added: “I suppose there has to be that give and take. Fred was never one to raise his voice. If we disagreed about something we would just talk about it.

“There’s not much of that these days. Everyone wants to have their own way, but it isn’t always like that. We didn’t always see eye to eye. But that’s fine. You need to have that understanding.”