CENTENARIAN Alice Chadwick says the secret to a long life is a dry martini every day before lunch.

Mrs Chadwick who has just celebrated her 100th birthday said the cocktail, sometimes with a little gin, had kept her life long and healthy.

The Revidge resident celebrated her birthday with dozens of friends and family at the Blackburn Golf Club on January 6.

Mrs Chadwick who joined the club in 1944, with her husband John, played until she was 90 and over the years has represented it as both captain and president.

She said: "I have been very active all my life and played a lot of golf but I do think the dry martini once a day has definitely contributed.

"I still play bridge at the club and plan to do it for as long as I can. It is important to meet friends and keep your mind active."

Mrs Chadwick, who use to run Jack Chadwick's Outfitter's in Bolton Road with her husband, added: "It's lovely to have everyone here today to celebrate. I feel very lucky and privileged to have so many great friends and family members here."

Her nephew David, 66, who lives in County Durham, said: "It's absolutely fantastic that we are celebrating this great milestone with my aunt. And we hope to celebrate many more with her as she can still out think me."

Mrs Chadwick, who never had any children, was a full paying member of the golf club for 50 years until 1994 when she was made an honorary member of the ladies’ section.

And in 2007 she was made a life member of the club.

She also represented the club on many occasions and was a member of the team that won the Lancashire Ladies' County Golf Association Scratch Shield twice, the Worsley Cup and the Handicap Team Trophy in the 1950s.

Government figures last week showed that nearly a fifth of people living in the UK today are expected to celebrate their 100th birthday.

The figures, from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), suggest that 10 million people, about 17 per cent of the British population, will become centenarians.