Husband says an emotional thank you to Echo for 50 years of love

A doting husband has thanked the Sunderland Echo for giving him almost 50 years of happy marriage, before his wife's recent passing.

- by Chris Cordner

Tony Bentley, formerly from Watford and Chesham, met his future wife Barbara, from Seaham, in 1975 thanks to a special appeal in the paper.

We had asked for Echo readers to become pen pals with sailors on board a Royal Navy ship HMS Antrim - and you responded in style, as always.

There were so many responses that six bags of mail were sent out to the ship, which was on a six-month exercise in the Mediterranean.

One of the sailors was leading radio operator Tony Bentley, who received a letter from Barbara and they soon hit it off.