A SPA man has celebrated his 100th birthday among friends at a residential home.

Richard Clay, of Rashwood Residential Home, hit the century mark last Friday and had a visit from town mayor Anne Taft as part of his celebrations.

Richard was born in a village close to Hallow and enjoyed a happy childhood playing in the Worcestershire countryside. After studying in London, he became a teacher and then a headteacher, before working as an inspector for the Ministry of Education.

Richard enjoys his retirement very much and in previous years particularly loved working in the garden.

Spokeswoman for the residential home, Hazel Sparkes, said: "Richard still enjoys people and socialising as by nature he is a gregarious person. He remains an articulate gentleman with lots of stories from an almost forgotten era.

"Without a doubt he is a person that is from a more gentle world than that we know today."