Honeymooners visit Jersey every year for 56 years

There was a surge of couples coming to Jersey for their honeymoons in the late 60s

A couple from Eastbourne have visited Jersey for a holiday every year since their honeymoon 56 years ago.

Anthony and Pat Davies said the island was "heaven on earth" for them.

The couple first arrived for their honeymoon in March 1968 along with thousands of other honeymooners due to a tax allowance change in that year.

Couples in England and Wales had to get married before May 1968 in order to get the entirety of the allowance after which it was reduced every month, according to the Office for National Statistics.

Work accident

Mr and Mrs Davies were filmed getting off the plane by a news crew at the start of their honeymoon in 1968 and they stayed at the L’Hermitage Hotel for a week.

Mr Davies, 78, said he was an apprentice at a garage in 1968 and unable to afford a holiday to Jersey but £26 compensation from a work accident enabled them to go.

They were given a special plaque at the time that was made by Jersey Pottery as a commemoration of their visit to the island and treasure it to this day.

Mrs Davies, 76, said walking was what the couple enjoyed doing most, around the island's reservoirs, the race track and the beaches with their favourite being St Brelade.

Jersey Pottery gave Anthony and Pat a plaque in 1968 and they treasure it to this day

During one visit they said they visited the Jersey Museum where they saw themselves in a news reel being shown there - the 1968 footage of their honeymoon.

"We nearly had a heart attack when we saw us in there," said Mrs Davies.

Mr Davies, who retired last year after running a disability business supplying scooters and wheelchairs, said they wanted to keep visiting Jersey for as long as their health would allow.

He said it would “be a loss out of our lives if we were unable to do it”.