A Bedale home has seen a third resident notch up a century.

Winifred Lillystone celebrated her 100th birthday on Tuesday with a small family party at Benkhill Lodge, where she has lived since January last year.

Two other residents in the home run by North Yorkshire County Council in Benkhill are aged 101 and 102.

Mrs Lillystone was born at Eston Grange, between Middlesbrough and Redcar, and worked as a clerk in an office before her marriage.

She later moved to Crakehall, where she lived for most of her life before becoming one of the first tenants of Queen Anne's Drive at Bedale.

Mrs Lillystone's late husband, who came from Stokesley, once managed a grocery shop in Bedale.

As a child on Teesside, Mrs Lillystone gained a reputation as a tomboy, always getting into trouble with her parents for insisting on playing football with boys, and she is still noted for her sense of humour.

She has two sons living in the Bedale area, but her daughter died. There are five grandchildren and eight great grandchildren, with another on the way.

A small family party was preferred for her birthday because her health has deteriorated recently. A message from the Queen was among her cards. Mrs Lillystone's daughter-in-law made a sponge cake and Benkhill Lodge staff made a fruit cake, both iced.

Mrs Lillystone was a faithful member of Crakehall Methodist Church, which presented her with a framed certificate in appreciation of her life and witness.

She put down her longevity to hard work and church attendance, adding with a hint of her tongue in her cheek: "And minding my own business and other folks'."