MIDSOMER Norton ‘celebrity’ couple Kenneth and Barbara Ashman celebrated 70 years of marriage over the Easter weekend.

A singer originally from Yorkshire, Barbara, was visiting her sister when Kenneth spied her on the doorstep.

Kenneth, born in Clandown, was a semi-professional footballer and worked for Wheeler and Company before moving to shoe manufacturer Clarks.

Barbara worked for Standard Check Book Co. and the couple married in 1956 at St John’s Church in Midsomer Norton.

They had three children together and 12 grandchildren and eight great grandchildren in total.

They put their longevity down to years of ballroom dancing and having a busy social life, says son Tony Ashman who also shared the couple’s delight at receiving a card from King Charles to match one ten years earlier from Queen Elizabeth.