A St Neots great-grandmother proudly showed off her card from the Queen as she celebrated her 100th birthday surrounded by family and friends.

Joyce Edge turned 100 on August 9 and her family organised a party for her at the Bulls Head, in St Neots, on Sunday, August 7 which saw more than 100 guests enjoying a barbecue and entertainment from singer Lia Gray.

Her family also organised a small gathering at Waterside Court in St Neots, where Joyce lives, on her actual birthday on August 9 so she could celebrate with the other residents.

"She was so excited to get the card from the Queen and has proudly shown it off to everyone," said her daughter Joy. In fact, 25 years ago, when one of her grandsons was five he asked her if she could live to be 100 so she would get something from the Queen and she always promised him that she would."

Joyce lives independently in a retirement flat and still does her own cooking, cleaning and washing. She regularly plays scrabble and up until a few years ago she played bridge. She does crosswords and sudoku in a daily newspaper every day and says she particularly enjoys the codebreaker.

Joyce was born in Newark, in Nottinghamshire, and was the eldest of eight children. She had five brothers and two sisters but it is only her and her two youngest brothers who are still alive.

She left school at 14 and worked in a cinema before moving to an armaments factory where she helped to produce machinery parts for the war effort. She married Bernard in 1942 and they were very happily married until he sadly died in 1998.

During her married life she worked as an auxiliary nurse in a psychiatric hospital. She moved to Waterside Court 21 years ago to be nearer to family. Joyce has three children, six grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren.

She says the secret to a long life is keeping your brain active, eating everything in moderation and having a positive outlook on life.