SAYING a prayer each night is the secret to long life says 100-year-old Emma Edge.

Sprightly Emma, from Waterfoot, was born at Dean Head Farm, Bacup. To celebrate her birthday she invited her nieces and nephews and friends to a party at Lumb Baptist Church.

She has seen a lot of changes over the years and one in particular is the working day. "I used to go to Heald School and when I was 12 I was on half-time at school and half-time as a cotton weaver at Meadow Mill, Bacup.

"I became a full-time millworker at 13 and stayed there until I was 25 when I married my husband Fred, who was a farrier, and moved to Waterfoot.

"I would start work at 6am, have a break for breakfast and a break for lunch and finish at 5.30pm."

Emma has been a churchgoer all her life and for more than 50 years attended Hareholme Methodist Church. She was widowed in 1976.

Until a recent spell in hospital, she attended every Sunday morning and evening service at Lumb Baptist Church.

She said: "I believe the secret to a happy life is to trust in God and leave every day with Him.

"If you trust in God you don't have to worry about it. I pray every night."

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