A pensioner from Dover is finally celebrating her 21st birthday today (Monday).

Andrée Reardon, of Albany Place, was born on February 29, 1932, which makes this year a very special birthday indeed.

A big party is on the cards for Mrs Reardon, who actually turns 84.

She will be marking her leap year milestone with friends and family visiting from all over the world.

As she was born on a leap year, her actual birthday only comes around every four years, making the pensioner feel very young at heart.

She said: “This is one thing I’ve been waiting for, for a long time. It’s a very special day.”

The party will be at Albany House, where she lives. Her son Shaun Reardon, 54, will be visiting from Norway, along with her daughter Suzanne Paice, 52, from Cornwall. She also has four grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren. There will be a 21st birthday cake and a ukulele band performing some of her favourite songs – and as a former soprano singer, she loves music.

Mrs Reardon, who worked as a house matron at the Duke of York’s Military School, said: “I always thought it was rather special to be born on February 29. I thought I would love to still be here for my 21st.”

She has lived in Dover for more than 40 years, and worked with 11- to 13-year-old boys at the Dover school for 14 years, where she became their substitute mother while they were away from their families. She said she loved her time there.

She also joined the RAF in 1949 for five years and was based in Hawkinge as a telephonist. It was there where she met her husband, Robert Stuart Reardon.

After having their two children, the pair later divorced and Mr Reardon has since died.

Mrs Reardon said: “It’s surprising how many people say they never knew anyone born on a leap day.” She has only met one person with whom she shares a birthday – a friend of her uncle, called Andre, who visited from the Canadian Army when she was just a little girl.

In previous years, Mrs Reardon has marked her birthday on March 1 – but this year will be different for this special 21-year-old.