A new centenarian celebrated her special day this week surrounded by family and friends.

Catherine "Kitty" Jones, from Chestnut House in Roehampton, was joined by loved ones for a party at her care home with cake and champagne, plus a card from The Queen.

Kitty spent much of her life running cafes in various parts of London including the East End docks and in Battersea.

After retiring at 75, she had been living in sheltered accommodation in Putney where she had become increasingly unhappy.

But two years after arriving at her new home, she is thriving and enjoying life again.

             Your Local Guardian:

Connie Lally, manager of Chestnut House, said: "Kitty first came here two years ago and she wasn't very well and had become quite depressed..

"But since then the care she has received here has really settled her down and she's very happy now.

"Kitty's religion is very important to her and every Thursday she is down for Holy Communion with Sister Anne."

Born in East Ham in 1913, Kitty was one of five siblings, including four sisters and one brother.

After the war she borrowed money off a loan shark, because banks would not lend money to women in those days, in order to set up a cafe in the docks in what is now Canary Wharf.

Once set up, the cafe became a regular haunt for dockers who worked in the area.

However, Kitty also had deal with the prying eyes of the authorities who would inspect the cafe, looking for illegal goods.

Kitty recalled: "In those days food was short so there was a black market for many things.

"The police used to visit regularly to check we weren't hiding anything we shouldn't have.

"My daughter used to dance on the tables, that the food was hidden under, and entertain the officers so they would search too hard."

The mother-of-one has one daughter, Angela, two grandchildren, one great grandchild and two great, great grandchildren.

Kitty attributes her outstanding longevity to "hard work and graft" and helping to look after her army of young relatives.