A NEW Forest restaurant has launched a unique loyalty scheme which rewards customers for their loyalty to each other.

Married diners at the Nurse's Cottage in Sway will receive a discount equivalent to the number of years they have been married.

All they have to do is take a wedding certificate to prove their years of wedded bliss and an equivalent percentage will be deducted from the bill.

Bosses are anticipating handing out discounts of 50 per cent and more as couples who have marked their golden wedding anniversary cash in. It's a novel twist on the traditional customer loyalty scheme which sees firms offering rewards for repeat business and is part of a promotion in the run-up to Valentine's Day.

The offer at the 18-seater, £23 a head restaurant, which also has five rooms, runs from February 1 to 13.

Nurse's Cottage owner Tony Barnfield, pictured, said: "It's all a bit of fun. I would like to reward married people. If they've been married for a long time then let's celebrate that. I'm not married but I support it and admire it very much."

Mr Barnfield, a former radio journalist, said that his customers tended to be older, so he expected some hefty discounts to apply.

"We get people here in their 80s and 90s and if they have got married in their 20s then that adds up to a good discount," he said.

"I would have thought there will be quite a few customers married for 25 years and 50- and 60-year marriages will be a bit thinner on the ground."

For further information or to make a booking contact 01590 683402.