A HUDDERSFIELD couple who met on the buses more than 45 years ago took a Valentine's Day trip down memory lane - on the back seat of the "love bus".

Selwyn and Margaret France rekindled their romance on the back seat - surrounded by flowers, chocolates and balloons - after winning a competition run by bus company Arriva.

The couple, of New Lane Farm, Scapegoat Hill, were chosen to spend the most romantic day of the year on a moorland ride after impressing judges with the heart-warming tale of their courtship.

And as well as marking Valentine's Day, it was Mr France's 65th birthday.

Mrs France, 61, who entered the competition said: "We met on a bus in 1959 when I was 16 and he was 19.

"For the next two years we travelled together on buses having a chat and courting.

"I thought it was a lovely idea especially because today is my husband's birthday."

The couple, who have been married for 40 years, both grew up in the Scapegoat Hill area and frequently travelled into town together.

Mr France said: "Nobody had cars in those days so it was nice to go on a bus journey. I like a bus journey - we once went to Russia by bus on a coach tour."

After the half-hour ride from Outlane to Denshaw, the couple, who have two children, were looking forward to tucking into fish and chips.

Mrs France said: "We used to come to the fish and chip shop here in Outlane funnily enough.

"But today we are going out for lunch with family and friends."

Phil Booker, commercial director of Arriva Yorkshire, said: "We had a Valentine's competition to find romantic stories about people who had met on buses.

"Of all the people who contacted us their story really stood out."