It's lucky eight for Pagham couple

Joyce and Ron Pulsford were both 80 on 08.08.08.

The personal milestone of the husband and wife is unlikely to have been repeated anywhere in the country. Not only do they share the same birthday, but they are also the same age to make their feat even rarer.

Add in the never-to-be- repeated numerical sequence of all the eights and the significance of their occasion becomes even more special.

Cambridge University's David Spiegelhalter, professor of the public understanding of risk, said he was sure no one else could match such a numerical sequence.

"I reckon there were about 400 people in the country who celebrating their 80th birthday on 080808. But for two of them to be married to each other is certainly unlikely, particularly as there is generally an age gap between husbands and wives," he stated.

"I would personally bet on them being unique in the country. As a rough assessment, I would say the odds on there being another couple are between 10 to 1 and 100 to 1 against."

Mr and Mrs Pulsford, who have a grand-daughter, celebrated their special joint day last Friday by entertaining five close friends at their bungalow in Church Way. . Their two daughters had joined them for a family barbecue the previous weekend.

Former Metropolitan Police sergeant Mr Pulsford said: "It did feel a special day to us in a way because we kept on seeing it advertised as being the start of the Olympics as well.

"But, because our birthdays being on the same day has been with us for so long, we are quite used to it. It also means we never forget each other's birthday!"

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