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A British couple has rekindled a decades-old romance as they tie the knot at nearly 80. Len Allbrighton, 79, and Jeanette Steer, 78, were denied a wedding in 1963 by the bride’s parents. They have traversed continents to finally realise their swinging sixties dream.

The couple first met in the 1960s while training as nurses on the Isle of Wight and hoped to marry when Mr Allbrighton was 19 and his now-wife was 18.

But existing age of consent laws meant that, since Ms Steer was under 21, her parents needed to grant their approval first.

They refused, meaning the couple had to drop the plans, and Ms Steer could not join her partner in Australia.

A heartbroken Mr Allbrighton, who had always felt unhappy in the UK, travelled to the continent alone.

He built a home on a plot of land he had hoped to share with Ms Steer, married, and welcomed three children with his wife.

After his marriage ended in 2015, Mr Allbrighton moved back to England, settling in Stevenage.

With Ms Steer still on his mind after nearly 60 years, he returned to Newport and looked up her address in the town library.

He told the SWNS news agency that he was “daunted”, fearing her reaction after travelling to Newport “on the off chance”.

Mr Allbrighton said he “just hoped she was ok”, adding he “didn’t expect anything else.”

He said: “I’m very surprised by the outcome of my trip down there and very happy too!”

The two were reintroduced when Ms Steer walked up to her garden fence, with Ms Steer saying she “nearly died” when she realised it was him.

She said she was “glad” he looked her up, but like Mr Allbrighton, she had moved on, having married and welcomed two children of her own.

After the two split up in 1963, she enjoyed a successful career as a qualified nurse and was still with her husband.

She ultimately sent Mr Allbrighton on his way and told her husband he was a stranger seeking directions.

Ms Steer’s husband died of cancer two years later, and it became her turn to search for her former partner.

Romance blossomed when they reunited, and the two moved in together in Stevenage before Mr Allbrighton proposed for a second time in 2022.

They married on February 11 this year in a small ceremony attended by close family.

One of Ms Steer’s daughters gave her away, with the couple surrounded by their other children and great-grandchildren.

She said married life “couldn’t be better”, adding she likes “doing everything and anything with Len”.

Mr Allbrighton said they “fell in love again” and read one another poems while they exchanged rings.

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