BIRTHDAY girl Isabel Walker took it all in her stride when she celebrated her 102nd birthday with friends and family at the weekend.

The great-grandmother is thought to be one of the oldest-ever residents in her home town of Guisborough, but at a party in her honour on Saturday, she remained modest and said her grand age was all down to her genes.

She said many members of her family had lived well into their 90s, and believed a positive outlook and healthy lifestyle was the key.

"We are quite a strong breed of people," she said.

"I used to do lots of cycling when I was younger, and I have always been a good walker.

"I eat plenty of fruit and veg, and I have lots of company and callers. I think all those things are important to a good life."

But the pensioner, of Hutton Lane, Guisborough, said despite losing some of her hearing and sight, she was still fiercely independent.

She added: "I'm happy on my own in my own home. I have carers coming in all the time to help me, and I have quite a nucleus of family around me, so I am very lucky.

"I don't want to go into an institute at all. That's my horror."

Mrs Walker moved to Guisborough from Appleton Roebuck, near York, with her family when she was nine, after her father took over the tenancy of Gisborough Priory gardens as a seedsman.

They later moved to Redcar, where they owned a flower and vegetable shop, where she worked until she married police detective George Walker, when she was 21.

The couple lived in Redcar and had one son, Derek.

Her husband died after 40 years of marriage. Mrs Walker moved back to Guisborough about 20 years ago.

She has two grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

She said: "I would always say make the best of what you have got and live from day to day.

"Accept what happens to you, because we have no choice. We are all given strength to deal with difficulties, so just be happy."