A great-grandmother who turned 103 this week has revealed her secret to long life - not taking medication.

Eve Bowles, celebrated her birthday with her family on Tuesday, April 15, at the Chegworth nursing home in Downside, Cheam.

Her granddaughter Tracey Bernesconi said she thought it was her strong heart and wholesome lifestyle, that includes no medication, have spurred her on through the years.

She said the nursing home where she has lived for the past eight years said they could not believe that she never took painkillers even though she has arthritis.

The former wardrobe mistress - who sewed clothes for stage productions - was trained in a sewing apprenticeship in London, setting her on course for a career as a court dress maker that saw her making garments for Lords and Ladies.

She then worked as a wardrobe mistress for theatre productions , meet many famous faces, such as Cliff Richards, Danny La Rue and Thora Hird from ‘Last of the Summer Wine’.

Lesley Cole, Ms Bowles’s only daughter, say that her favourite memory of her mother is when she made her "beautiful" wedding dress.

Ms Bowles’s family believe that her strong heart and wholesome lifestyle, that includes no medication, have spurred her on through the years. Mrs Cole said: "She’s brilliant. [Her] long term memory is brilliant, but [her] short-term memory is not so good... If you ask her what she’s had for dinner, she always says sausages."

Despite enjoying her day, Ms Bowles was not excited about turning 103.

Mr Bernesconi said: "She was really pleased when she turned 100, but it doesn’t really faze her anymore."

Eve Bowles has resided in Sutton for 13 years, but her rich life was spent living in various locations around the country, including Brighton and Wimbledon.

During the Second World War, she was evacuated to Norfolk, where she and a friend - referred to as the Crazy Londoners - lived in a lighthouse on the top of a hill.

They would grow vegetables and pick berries, and Ms Bowles would later tell her grandson, Jack Bernesconi, stories of how she could hear bombs being dropped.