IT'S 84 years since Dorothy Perks moved to the county from Wales.

The family came to Herefordshire to start a new life after her father had decided to leave the hazards of the mines behind.

She recently celebrated her 100th birthday at Stretton Sugwas Nursing Home with her family and other residents.

Dorothy - the eldest of nine children - had finished her schooling in Wales and took a job in Thin's Tile Works in Hereford - cycling there every day from her home in Wellington. She met husband Jack at work and married him when she was 21, moving to Foley Street in the city.

Dorothy has two sons, Robert and Martin, three grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

Dorothy's nephew Tony Bailey, who is a member of the Railway Choir, led the singers in a rendition of Happy Birthday for her.