When Jenny Turner started out as a nurse in 1956, doctors smoked on wards and male nurses were nowhere to be seen.

But 60 years on the Banbury resident is celebrating being Britain's longest serving nurse, and at 76 has no plans to quit just yet.

The dedicated grandmother fell into healthcare at just 16 when she followed a friend into an exam to become a cadet nurse, and passed with flying colours.

Since then she has worked countless 12-hour days, witnessed tragedies and saved lives - all while raising two children and juggling a 50-year marriage.

She said: "It was hard work. At the start I was nearly crying because my feet hurt so much, and we got paid very little. 

"We didn't have much time off and only three weeks of holiday per year. You couldn't choose when to take it, so you would never get a summer holiday. 

"They would tell us we were lower than the scum of the earth - it was to teach us to do as we were told." 

Starting off in 1956, Mrs Turner earned £7 a month at the Cheltenham General Hospital in Gloucestershire.

She began her nurse training in 1958 - qualifying three years later - and now works at the North Cotswold Hospital in Moreton-in-Marsh.

Weather permitting, she still makes the 20-mile round trip from home in Banbury by scooter during the three days a week she works as a staff nurse.

The mother-of-two, who lives with her husband Pete, 79, said: "I think it is easier now in a way, it's certainly different. 

"The uniform used to be a pinstripe dress with a starched apron and a little hat, so that's changed quite a lot. 

"The computer coming in was also a big shock. I still find I get worried that I'm not spending enough time with the patients - I feel guilty. 

"We used to be expected to remember all of the patient's details and would have to reel off their name, age and diagnosis and treatment on the post. 

"There were no intensive care units either. One time a young man came in unconscious and we had to keep his temperature down with water bottles filled with ice. 

"We used to treat wounds with larvae therapy, basically maggots. 

"Then the doctors would come round with torches at night and pick them off and take them fishing." 

Even after 60 years, she said she will gradually cut down her hours but has no plans to retire completely.

She added: "The most rewarding thing is when patients are grateful, but I'm not in the job to save lives.

"I'm not that kind of person. I'm a nurse because I love it."