EAST Lancashire’s most celebrated centenarian has marked her 108th birthday.

Alice Horne, thought to be the nation’s oldest living freeman and the oldest women in East Lancashire, was visited by Hyndburn mayor Cllr Munsif Dad at her home in Oswaldtwistle to mark the occasion yesterday.

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The plucky pensioner, who spent years working for charity and playing sports, received several bunches of flowers and dozens of birthday cards, which were all proudly displayed in her Oswaldtwistle home.

And although she is no longer as nimble as she once was, Alice is still of sound mind, even joking with well-wishers and visitors that she is actually only 21.

The Scot said: “My secret is happiness. Don’t let anything worry you.

“I have lived in this house for more than 56 years. I have always lived alone but I have never been short of company. I’ve done my fair share of work for this town. Everybody here knows me.”

Speaking from Alice’s front room in the former weaver’s cottage, Cllr Dad said: “I have heard a lot about Alice from previous mayors and it is lovely to meet her.

“I’m delighted we have such a remarkable woman in the borough.”

Alice, who has never married, has led a remarkable life, has cheated death on several occasions.

As a child she contracted polio, and during the Second World War she was buried under the rubble of a matchstick factory after the German blitz on Liverpool.

At the age of 50, an accident left her confined to a wheelchair, and in 2005 she was attacked by intruders who tried to steal from her home.

And, after learning to swim at 70, she became involved with the Disabled Association for Sport in Hyndburn (DASH), taking part in javelin, bowling and darts events, and in 1986 she was named Britain’s most active pensioner.

Her nephew, who visits Alice for a weekend every month to take her out, said: “When she gets going, she has a million amazing stories. She has done so much with her life. Aunty Alice is a valued member of her community and charity work has played a massive part in most of her life.”