ONE of the oldest residents in the region, Winifred Hudson, has died at 105.

Mrs Hudson, from Bedale, put her long life down to being active, so much so that when she was 101 and 102 she did the Race for Life for cancer charities.

She was born Winifred Minnie Spence in Skegness before moving to Leeds after the start of the First World War where her mother was active at Liberal Party and Suffragette meetings.

Winifred joined the Oxford Place Methodist Chapel in Leeds where she was a member of the choir. She was also a hiker and met her husband, Thomas Hudson, through walking. They married in 1934. Their son Graham was born in 1937 and daughter Christine in 1946.

In 1982 the couple left Leeds and moved to Bedale to be nearer their daughter.

After Tom’s death in 1987, Winifred devoted much of her time to the church, regularly helping with coffee mornings and insisting on doing the washing up which she carried on doing until she was 100. At 101, she was persuaded to leave her bungalow and moved into The Millings care home in Bedale.

Her daughter, Christine Godden, said: “It was during her first summer there that she entered the Race for Life which she enjoyed to the full. This was repeated at 102, but after that she hung up her runnings shoes.

“She was always active, whether in the house or in the garden and liked to keep busy. She put her long life down to keeping busy and not giving in. She finally gave in at the age of 105, she would have been 106 on November 13, but died in her sleep at The Millings after enjoying a long, busy and active life.”

A funeral service of celebration for her life was held on Tuesday in Wycar Methodist Chapel in Bedale after cremation in Darlington.