TWIN sisters who are 101 years old still meet every week in a village near Leominster.

Edith Dumbleton, who lives in Leysters and her twin sister Dorcas Tobin are 101 years old.

Edith lives with her daughter and son in law at Leysters, and Dorcus with her son in Banbury in Oxfordshire.

The women were the youngest of four children. They were born on June 28, 1920.

They meet every week in Leysters although contact has been limited in the past year because of Covid-19.

Mrs Dumbleton’s daughter, Christine Bemand, said that her mother’s sight is not great and she has limited mobility but is otherwise well.

Her sister is more mobile and that is why they meet in Herefordshire.

Both sisters have had both Covid-19 vaccinations and Mrs Bemand says that the virus has never been a major concern for the two women.

Mrs Dumbleton, whose husband died 15 years ago, had three children, Christine, Fred and Ken who died 10 years ago. She has nine grandchildren and 22 great grandchildren.

After being born into a family without a lot of money Mrs Dumbleton went into domestic service.

“Mum worked in a house half a mile from her home but was only allowed to visit once a fortnight on the half a day that she had off every two weeks,” said Mrs Bemand.

She left domestic service and began working for the war effort in a factory making switchgear for munitions.

“Mum was much happier although it was not so good for Dorcas,” added Mrs Bemand.

She got married in 1950 and then started a family. After this she worked as a home help.

“It has not been an easy life” added Mrs Bemand.

But a positive attitude and ability to deal with adversity has been important.