LOVE was in the air as 30 couples tied the knot again in an attempt to break a world record and raise the profile of marriage.

The couples headed to St Mary Magdalen Church in High Street, Billericay, to renew their vows in a service led by the Rev Warner Pidegon.

Among those present were Ken and Joan Joslin, who have been married for 69 years. They met while breaking Nazi codes at Bletchley Park during the Second World War.

Couples were at the church, and at churches across the country, to break a Guiness World Record for the highest number of couples to renew their vows at any one time.

The results of whether the record was broken won’t be known for a fewweeks.

Joan, 90, of Myln Meadow, Stock, gave the secret to a successful, long-lasting marriage, saying: “You’ve got to have patience. You’ve got to give and take.”

She described meeting her “toyboy” Ken Joslin, 89, saying: “We met at Bletchley Park, I was a codebreaker and Ken was an engineer. I’d spent the war years there.

“We’ve got three daughters and a son, nine grandchildren and two great grandchildren.”

“The ceremony was really nice. It did bring back memories. We’ve been very fortunate, we’ve got a lovely family, we are very lucky.”

Joining the Joslins were Gemma, 27, and Stephen Cambridge, 31, of Dukes Farm Road, Billericay, who took part in the ceremony with their ninemonth- old daughter Jessica.

Mrs Cambridge said: “We got married in the Ivory Rooms with a registrar. We took part because we wanted to do something with our church, and just to be a part of the event, to support our church.”

Elvira, 66, and Charles Crasto, 70, of Langley Place, Billericay, were married in a church in Bombay, India, 41 years ago.

Mr Crasto: “It was very nice for us to do this and it brought back memories of the wedding.”

Also present were Merrill and Christopher Knight, who live off Mountnessing Road, Billericay.

Mr Knight said: “We’ve been married next month for 47 years and it just seemed appropriate when the opportunity to do this arose that it would coincide, to take part. The whole thing was really great and it brought back a lot of memories.”

The world record attempt was linked with 80 other churches across the country. At least 25 other couples renewed their vows at each of them.