By HANNAH RODGER

A COUPLE found love in their 80s after getting in a tangle over a jammed seatbelt.

Philip McCusker, 89, and Helen McAllister, 84, met by chance after boarding a bus to Oban Two years after their first encounter, the pensioners are now engaged and say their relationship shows it is never too late to find romance.

But it wasn’t love at first sight for the pair, who sat in silence for a good two hours of the journey.

However when the coach stopped for a break mid-way through, Philip, a retired cartoonist from Cathcart, offered to help Helen when her seatbelt got stuck.

Retired nurse Helen, who now lives in Helensburgh, said: “I never thought I’d meet anyone at this late stage in my life.

“The first time he ever put his hands on me, it was because I couldn’t get my seatbelt unfastened on the bus!

“He helped me with it and we started talking.

“The bus was packed. I normally get a seat to myself, as I’m usually the only one travelling since my husband died 18 years ago.

“Phillip came and sat beside me and it was a very nice companionship from then on.

“There was no flash of romance or anything like that at the beginning.”

The new friends enjoyed lunch together and after they got off the bus at the end of the day, Philip presented Helen with a bottle of champagne. Helen said: “He didn’t even know why he had a bottle of champagne with him but he gave it to me. It all started because I got home and thought ‘I better phone him and thank him for it’.”

Over the last two years, the pair have gone travelling all round the world, visiting Ibiza, Portugal and even the luxury Dorchester Hotel in London.

They’ve wined and dined in Glasgow, and watched the Edinburgh Tattoo followed by a meal at the Royal Scots Club.

And last month, they took to the skies on a seaplane, flying off from Cameron House at Loch Lomond.

Philip said although the pair had been on many adventures, he had never been on a seaplane and wanted to try something new.

Now the couple are engaged and say nobody should rule out finding love later on in life. Phillip phones Helen twice a day, and she comes to visit him every week in between playing bridge with friends.

She added: “I’m having an absolutely fabulous time...better than some of the young ones, I’d say!”