THE family of a centenarian from West Moors believes the secret to her reaching the age of 100 is drinking red wine every day.

Eileen Osborn, who lives at Moorland Court on Station Road, has enjoyed two parties to celebrate her special birthday on May 25, including a family meal on Sunday, May 31. Some members of the family had travelled from as far away as Switzerland and Australia to join Eileen for the occasion.

When asked what she thinks her mother's secret is to reaching 100, daughter, Vicki Shapley, said: "I think it's actually red wine. She has a permanent red wine box in the kitchen and one behind it in case the first one runs out. Don't get me wrong, she doesn't drink to excess, but she enjoys a glass of red wine at lunchtime and another at dinner."

Vicki said that her mum had lived in a house in London up until she turned 96 in 2011, having previously worked in a hospice in North London.

However, Eileen moved to Dorset to be closer to her family, in particular daughter, Vicki, and now lives in warden-assisted flats.

She added: "At her party on Sunday, we had there my husband and myself, my daughter, my son who came over from Switzerland, a lot of nieces and nephews and a lot of her friends from London.

"I take her out and about when I can, although she doesn't like getting in and out of the car too much and she has help coming in in the mornings, although she can still cook basic meals for herself.

"She's quite immobile now unfortunately, but she's still as bright as a button. She's very sociable, she likes to read the newspaper every day, reads books, watches TV shows such as Springwatch and nature programmes, and she's still generally very interested in life."