Birthday girl Violet still going strong at 107

And two world wars, 25 changes of Prime Minister and five monarchs later, Mrs Edwards is still going strong.

The Newport resident celebrated her 107th birthday at The Rylands Nursing and Residential Home in Newport yesterday.

There was music, dancing and wine as friends and family shared the special day with the home's oldest resident.

Mrs Edwards has been a resident at the home for three years and every year they celebrate her birthday with a different theme.

For her 105th birthday they had a wig party, where everyone wore a daft hair for the occasion.

And this year all the guests were dressed as a pirate, with eye patches and swords.

She even received another card from The Queen, wishing her a happy birthday.

Ian Smallman, who is one of the chefs at Rylands said she had a great time celebrating her birthday.

"I have been here almost 12 months and she hasn't changed one bit," he said.

"She doesn't seem to age and she always joins in with all the activities we have going on at the home.

"She is always the first person to get involved, she can't hear much but she loves being involved.

"When it was bonfire night everyone jumped at the sound of a rocket going off and Violet just goes 'oh that's nice', not realising how loud it actually was."

Mrs Edwards was heavily involved with the cub group in Dawley during the 1950s and 1960s.

She still enjoys knitting and has been described as a party animal by some of the staff at Rylands

She also reads the Shropshire Star from cover to cover every day, paying particular attention to the family announcements.

Mrs Edwards was born in Beckbury, near Shifnal, where she lived for most of her childhood.

She married Bill Edwards and the couple moved to Madeley. She has one son, Peter, who lives in the USA, one granddaughter and three great-grandchildren.

Margret Moir, who was Violet's cleaner before she moved to Rylands, said: "She is just a lovely lady and words really cannot explain how special she is."