A MAN and wife have spoken out against a minister's decision to refuse to marry a couple because of their age difference.

As reported in last week's Bury Times, the Rev Ruth Wollaston caused a storm after saying the marriage of 54-year-old Ellen Channon and 27-year-old Pete Wellens was "ill-advised" as there was a 27-year age gap.

The Prestwich couple were devastated by the controversial decision and, despite having their hearts set on a white wedding at Besses United Reformed Church in Whitefield, they were forced to reconsider their plans and arrange a civil wedding for August.

The Rev Wollaston claimed there was something "not quite right" about the union and said if it all went wrong criticism would be levelled at the church for allowing them to marry.

Friends of the couple, who live in Webster Grove, Prestwich, have voiced their disgust at the Rev Wollaston's decision and Linda and Harry Fletcher have said they are living proof that marriage can work despite any age gap.

Mr and Mrs Fletcher, of Polefield Circle, Prestwich, have been married for 21 years and were together for around two years before that.

At the age of 81 and 53 respectively, there is a 28-year age gap but they claim age "has got "nothing to do with being in love".

Linda, who already had a six-year-old son when she met Harry, went on to have two children with him.

She said: "I am disgusted with what Rev Wollaston has said. She has refused to marry Ellen and Pete, not because of any religious beliefs but on the grounds of an age difference. She states she has a right to marry or refuse who she wishes but her decision was based on her personal view, which to my mind is wrong."

She went on: "What has age got to do with marrying someone? You can't help who you fall in love with. My husband could very well be a little old man in a home but he could also have died two weeks after we got married."

Former supermarket worker Linda, who has a young grand-daughter, said she knew Ellen and Pete when they all worked together in Sainsbury's in Prestwich before it closed.

"I remember when they first got together and, although there was a bit of supermarket gossip like with any other relationship, no one bothered about the age gap," she said. "They are very committed to each other and it is awful that it has come to this."

Even in the early 1980s when Linda and Harry tied the knot in a registry office, Linda said there was no animosity about their relationship.

She added: "It is not even society's view, it is the minister's personal view and who is she to judge? It isn't as though she is taking issue about Ellen being divorced, which I could understand a church being reluctant about. This is just diabolical."

Husband Harry, a former decorator, said he would recommend anyone in a similar situation to go ahead and get married, adding: "By the time Ellen and Pete get married in August, they are going to get such backing from their family and friends. I wish them well."