GREAT-great-grandmother Doris Hyde has spent every single one of her 101 years living in her home town of Abingdon.

The former nurse was born in Thames Street in 1910. She now lives in the Old Station House care home.

But she admitted she felt “old” yesterday as she celebrated her birthday with a party at the home, attended by 40 relatives and friends.

The eldest of 11 children, Mrs Hyde, whose maiden name was Trebble, first worked as a van driver, delivering laundry and fruit and vegetables, aged just 14.

She retired when she was 73, after working as an auxiliary nurse at a number of hospitals, including the John Radcliffe in Oxford.

Mrs Hyde said she had seen Abingdon go through many changes in her lifetime.

She said: “I remember this home being the railway station and going to Oxford on the Abingdon Bunk train, but apart from that everything has changed completely.”

She added: “I have had a lovely day and I am glad everyone came down to celebrate the day with me.”

Mrs Hyde and her late husband Jack had five children.

Mr Hyde worked at a laundry in Wilsham Road for more than 50 years. He died in the late 1960s.

Mrs Hyde now has 10 grandchildren, 17 great-grandchildren, and six great-great-grandchildren.

She lived independently in her home in Boxhill Walk until seven years ago when she moved to Old Station House. When asked the secret to her longevity, she said: “To keep everything in moderation and do the things you like doing more often.”

Her grandson Martin Salsbury, 44, of Crosslands Drive, said: “I’m very proud to have a gran so old, and I can only hope I live to an age close to where she is.”

Care home manager Carol Flynn said: “She enjoys herself and she always has a smile on her face. She has always got time to talk to people.”

She said it did not seem long ago that Mrs Hyde was celebrating reaching 100.

She added: “It has gone really quickly and she’s no worse for the year. She’s just as well as she was last year.”