A NEWCASTLE-born woman who moved to the Yorkshire Dales at the age of 15 has celebrated her 100th birthday.

Gertrude Whitaker celebrated on Thursday with friends, family and a glass of sherry at the residential home at Cross Hills, near Skipton, where she lives.

Her late husband, Arnold, played the saxophone and was a member of the Savona Dance Band.

Mrs Whitaker said: "He used to play three times a week at the Black Horse in Skipton. I liked to dance and would dance a lot."

The couple had two children, Rita and Malcolm. Malcolm continued his father's love of music and, as a child, toured Butlin's holiday camps playing his trumpet, and eventually became a member of Skipton Brass Band.