NO smoking or drinking and a healthy diet have helped Winn Fridd reach the grand age of 104.

Mrs Fridd celebrated her birthday surrounded by family, including three great-great-grandchildren at the Organic Gardens in Yalding.

She moved to Maidstone from Strood at the age of four and has lived here ever since.

She puts her longevity down to good diet and no drinking or smoking.

She said: “I do nothing excessively. I can’t understand people who drink a lot. People like to sit next to me at weddings because they always get my glass of champagne at the toast.”

Before she married Herbert Fridd in 1930 in Tovil, Mrs Fridd worked at Hayle Paper Mill, making handmade paper from 7.30am-5pm Monday to Friday for just over £1 per week.

She said she was relieved to give up work when she married.

“You didn’t carry on working in those days, you gave it up to have children. You’d get married, stop working and think ‘thank goodness - freedom!’ Not for long though when there are children on the way!”

The Maidstone of Mrs Fridd’s youth is now unrecognisable, the church she was married in is no longer standing and the paper mill has been converted into housing.

She said: “I’d like to take a trip around the town to see how everything has changed, I probably wouldn’t recognise it any more though. When I look outside my window and see the all the cars going past, I’m not sure I’d like it, not when you’re used to it being so much quieter.”

Mrs Fridd‘s three children, six grandchildren, 12 great-grandchildren and three great-great-grandchildren say they always enjoy going round to visit her.

Her daughter, Karen Martin, said: “She’s perfect, whenever you visit her you always come out feeling so much better.”