A GREAT grandmother celebrated her 104th birthday this week.

Violet Lawrence, spent the day with family and friends at Eleanor Hodson House, Caerleon, where she has lived since 1997.

Despite her grand age, the mother-of-three, who has eight grandchildren and 15 great grandchildren, is very active and staff at the home say she is “as bright as a button”.

She is very active and walks around the building 12 times a day in a bid to maintain her fitness, and was last year pictured in the Argus practising shooting hoops with a netball.

Mrs Lawrence, who was born in Newport, grew up in Pontnewydd before moving back to the city to start a family.

She is believed to be the oldest surviving police widow, following the death of her husband William Lawrence in 1985, who was a Sargent with the then Newport Borough constabulary.

She enjoys knitting and reading and attends many activities at the home, including exercise classes, bingo, crafts, dominoes, skittles, and relaxes by watching the soaps on television in the evenings.

Staff say Mrs Lawrence always jokes she is a creature of habit and says people could set their watch by her.