A primary school teacher and chemical scientist tied the knot as the biggest football game in British history kicked off.

Janice Newnum, 72 and Tony Irons, 73, of Kings Langley, were married on July 30, 1966 as England beat West Germany 4-2 and won the World Cup.

The couple met at the altar of St James The Less church in Hadleigh, as the England team were preparing for the biggest match of their lives.

Mrs Irons said: “We booked the wedding before we knew the date of the World Cup. In all honesty, we didn’t think that England would get that far!

Mr Irons described the atmosphere between guests as “anxious”.

As soon as the reception was over, guests filled Mrs Irons mother’s living room to watch the game and the newlyweds returned to their one bedroom flat in London. Mr Irons said: “The walls of the bungalow shook with every cheer from the wedding guests.”

Mrs Irons said: “We were driving back to London and tuned into the radio. We listened to the extra time. Sharing our day with the country winning the world cup made it even more memorable.”

The pair met after exchanging glances at a Woolwich Polytechnic College dance, Mr Irons asked Mrs Irons to dance and just months later, he got down on one knee and asked Mrs Irons to marry him.

Mr Irons said: “I remember seeing this beautiful blonde and I asked her to dance, and it went from there.”

Mrs Irons was training at a teaching college in Eltham, east London and Mr Irons was studying a chemistry PHD at London University.

When Tony asked Janice to marry him, she rushed in to college the next day to tell her class friends, Mrs Irons said: “I remember shouting ‘Tony has proposed!’ We were all doing similar things with our lives, all of my teacher friends got married at the same time.”

Mr and Mrs Irons moved from London to Abbots Langley, where they lived for 30 years and then Kings Langley, where they have lived for 12 years.

Before enjoying retirement, Mrs Irons was a teacher at Highwood Primary School in Bushey and Mr Irons was a chemical scientist specialising in adhesives for Sellotape. The couple will be celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary with family and friends at Hunton Park hotel in Hunton Bridge.