Couples who have married at a Cross Hills church are returning for a service next weekend.

St Peter's Methodist Church has traced all but four of the 66 couples who have wed there since the building was refurbished in 1976.

Some are travelling from as far afield as Whitley Bay in the North-East and Macclesfield in Cheshire for the August 16 service.

Minister the Rev Mollie Greenwood says some of the couples who married at the church are no longer together and others have emigrated, but more than half of the remainder have so far responded. Some will be attending with their children, parents and other family members.

The Rev Greenwood adds: "They have been asked about their memories of their big day and the most common anecdote concerns the weather.

"A couple who married at the end of April one year fell foul of blizzards and the groom helped dig a path from the road to the church before tying the knot!

"St Peter's set itself the task of tracing the couples because it wants them to know that it continues to care about them.

Prayers will be offered for those whose marriages have not stood the test of time and for their families."

Anyone who was married at the church prior to 1976, and other members of the public, are also invited to attend the 10.30am service.

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