THEY thought they would be going for a simple meal at a local carvery for dinner with a few relatives and friends to celebrate their diamond anniversary.

But Walter and Sheila Lilly had no idea of what was going on in behind the scenes. First, they received a congratulatory card from the Queen, which had been organised by granddaughter Amy Hudson.

Then an upmarket limousine picked them up from their Eastleigh home to take them to a Chandler's Ford restaurant where they were greeted by 30 relatives and friends, including one daughter who had flown in from Australia.

"It's been difficult to keep things quiet," another daughter, Frances Hudson, confessed. "My father always likes to know what's going on!"

Walter, 85 and Sheila, 77, married at Portsmouth Register Office in April 1948. Walter used to cycle every day from their home in Fratton to Ford's Swaythling plant where he worked for 37 years.

The couple, who live in Ruskin Road, Eastleigh, have seven children.