A war veteran has celebrated his 105th birthday.

Leslie Stelfox still lives in Milton where he was born in 1913, when George V was on the throne and Herbert Asquith was Prime Minister.

Since then he has lived to see four monarchs, 19 PMs and two World Wars.

On reaching the milestone, he said: “The secret to living a long life is staying fit and well.

“I used to be quite active and was into football, hockey and cricket. I’ve never driven a car, I’ve always been on a push bike to get around if I wanted to go anywhere.”

After being born in Dover Street and growing up in Sittingbourne and Lower Halstow, Mr Stelfox followed family to live in Cheshire from the age of 10 to 15.

There he spent time working on fishing boats before he reached the age of 18 and joined the Army.

Recounting the process of signing up, Mr Stelfox said it was not an easy task.

He said: “I wanted to join the Navy but there wasn’t a a recruitment office open, so I joined the Army instead.

“It came to a point where I just wanted to join up to play my part.

“The secret to living a long life is staying fit and well" - Leslie Stelfox

“I went to serve in the Cheshire regiment before serving in the Palestine Police Force.

“Afterwards I served in the Territorial Army until I retired.”

Now Mr Stelfox enjoys spending his days watching the birds in his beloved garden.

To mark his 105th birthday he received a birthday card from the Queen. His first correspondence from Her Majesty fell on the doormat when he turned 100.

Mr Stelfox remains in the same house he lived in with his late wife Caroline, who passed away 30 years ago.

He only stopped cooking two years ago and now receives meals on wheels every day.

He says he has managed to maintain his independence thanks to the help of friends and neighbours.