Citizen finds '˜Mr and Mrs Milton Keynes' poster family from 1980

The faces of the smiling couple and their two young sons appeared on TV, in the national press and even on giant posters in London tube stations in a bid to attract more people to uproot and move to MK 36 years ago.

City archives showed only that the family were called Fenton and lived at Woughton Park - but nobody knew where they were now.

The organisers of January’s huge MK50 birthday exhibition asked the Citizen to help find them.

Within days of us publishing the photograph, Ian Fenton called.

“I’m the youngest son,” he said. “I was only four but I remember the photo being taken - and I remembered the photographer rewarded me with a Mars bar for being good.”

Ian, married with a son, still lives in MK - on Browns Wood - and his mum Maureen lives nearby.

He explains: “My parents moved to MK from Horsham in the 1970s because of my father’s job with Legal and General.

“MKDC gave them a house on Woughton Park. They loved it here - particularly their garden.

“They were out working in the garden one day and I was playing out the front when this car pulled up, someone from MKDC got out and asked if he could take a photo.

“We had no idea we would become the face of Milton Keynes.”

She is now divorced from Ian’s dad Peter, who lives in Spain, the other son Neil, who was six at the time, now lives in London.

“Mum and I stayed in MK and we are huge fans of the city,” said Ian, who is a manager for the Sainsbury and Argos group.”

He and his family will be given a VIP invite to MK50.