A GREAT grandmother has celebrated her 100th birthday surrounded by close family and friends.

Lois Edmonds marked the milestone at a party arranged by her family with champagne and smoked salmon at Rashwood Nursing Home in Droitwich on Sunday.

One of her three daughters, Pat Lakeman, of Abberley, said: “I think she was very pleased to have a party and to be celebrating her 100th birthday. We all went round to see her and had champagne and smoked salmon.”

Mrs Lakeman said her mother had always been an excellent and dedicated homemaker with a flair for flower-arranging, sewing and embroidery. She also used to help out in nursing homes.

Her husband Hal, who died 12 years ago, worked in the leather business in Birmingham while Mrs Edmonds devoted herself to home life and to caring for her children. The couple lived in Selly Park in Birmingham but moved in with their daughter Pat and her husband John in Abberley 14 years ago before Lois moved into a nursing home.

She also loved to play golf and was a good bridge player. She has three daughters – Pat Lakeman, Ann Rowse and Joan Harris – and 10 grandchildren and 10 great grandchildren.