YOUNG-AT-HEART Annie Palmer clocked up a century on Tuesday and declared she feels the same as she did when she was 90! Annie believes the secret to living longer is staying fit and she celebrated her 100th birthday with a glass of sherry during her party

YOUNG-AT-HEART Annie Palmer clocked up a century on Tuesday and declared she feels the same as she did when she was 90!

Annie believes the secret to living longer is staying fit and she celebrated her 100th birthday with a glass of sherry during her party at Soham's Keith Leonard House.

Sprightly Annie said: "I feel the same now as I did when I was 90. But when you reach 100 you start going backwards with your birthdays and that is what I'm going to do."

Annie, whose husband Charles died in 1984, has four children, 12 grandchildren, eight great-grandchildren and four great-great-grandchildren.

She keeps busy knitting socks for her family and for a charity that sends them to children in Africa.

She said: "I always try to keep busy. I get up at 6am and I'm in bed by 8.30pm and I enjoy reading romantic novels. I used to walk quite a bit but have not been able to do so much since I broke my hip three years ago."

Annie has twice flown to New Zealand to see her eldest son Arthur who lives there with his family and she talks with him regularly on the telephone.

He sent over a video of birthday wishes and Annie also received a card from The Queen.

Annie is not a great television fan but likes to watch snooker tournaments and has Whirlwind Jimmy White marked down as her favourite player.

Her other son, Peter, lives in Eye and daughters Marie and Joyce are also close by with Joyce near Bury St Edmunds and Marie, who helped organise the birthday party, in Soham. Annie was born in the village of Hundon in Suffolk.

Pic cap: Annie Palmer celebrating her 100th birthday.