Great-grandmother Ivy Glover celebrated her 100th birthday in North Cheam last week, surrounded by her extended family.

Youthful-looking Mrs Glover, who lives in Brook Court, held a birthday party lunch on Sunday last week in Stoke D'Abernon.

She was joined by 26 family, including her two children, four grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren - including one-year-old Oliver.

Her son Alan Glover, 65, said: "It was a lovely day and she had nearly everyone there who loves her.

"I think you can put her longevity down to her unfailing optimism and cheerfulness. She is very rarely down."

Mrs Glover was born Ivy Hopwood in Birmingham on October 8, 1907. In 1910, she went to live with her grandparents in central London in a flat above the Morgan Cars showroom, where her grandfather was a supervisor.

She met her future husband William, a lift engineer, when they were still at school together in Holborn. On leaving school, she worked as a shorthand typist until her marriage in 1932.

The Glovers moved to Clerkenwell and then to East Acton, where their daughter Joan was born in 1933.

During the early part of World War Two, despite being pregnant with her second child Alan, Mrs Glover worked packing food for the British Eight Army in North Africa.

Alan Glover said: "My mother was always a real family person and was a wonderful cook, using fresh ingredients and lots of vegetables. She started using frozen peas but, apart from that, she has never used convenience food."

William Glover died in 1995, and soon after Mrs Glover moved to sheltered accommodation in North Cheam's Brook Court. She still cooks fresh meals daily from raw ingredients.

When asked to explain her great age, Mrs Glover said: "I have never smoked, I don't drink, and I never bothered with men except my Bill."