YOU may think Madeleine Thompson would be the perfect candidate when it comes to qualifying for cheap car insurance.

She can be justly proud of having maintained a clean driving licence and never having suffered any accidents or endorsements.

But, despite her excellent record on the road, the high cost of car insurance and road tax recently forced Mrs Thompson to hang up her keys.

Though her family, including her 74-year-old son Michael, were more than a little relieved.

The sprightly widow, who today celebrates her 100th birthday, said: "They felt I was getting a shade too old. Now that my car's gone, I miss the independence of getting in and driving anywhere I want.

"But, I suppose my sight and reactions aren't as sharp as they used to be, so perhaps it's a good thing I've stopped.

"None of them suggested I should stop driving. But after I sold the car they said they were relieved."

Mrs Thompson, of Cotherstone, near Barnard Castle, County Durham, was taught to drive in an open-topped Talbot roadster in 1923 - at a time when there was very little traffic about.

During her 82 years on the road she has owned a succession of cars - her last was a small Fiat, in which she would regularly tour the North-East.

"I would have been happy to go on driving," she said.

"But the road fund licence and insurance were due for renewal, so I decided to get rid of it rather than pay the high price for another year."

She took a break yesterday from tidying up her garden to recall how she learnt to drive.

"In those days, it was just a case of handing over five shillings in the post office for a driving licence. Nobody asked if you could drive or not."

At that time, she drove while her fiance, Kelvin Thompson, who was to become her husband, sat in the passenger seat because he could not drive.

Mrs Thompson will celebrate her birthday today at a lunch for her large family - two sons, a daughter, eight grandchildren and six great- grandchildren.

Their ages range from one-month-old Oliver to Michael, 74.

She is arranging a buffet in Cotherstone village hall on Saturday for her friends.

"It is my way of thanking them because they have all been kind to me for years and this is a wonderful place to live," she said