FAMILY and friends gathered to celebrate the 102nd birthday of Phyllis Brampton.

Phyllis was born in St Ives in Cornwall in 1910 and moved to Weymouth when she was 10, and has lived in the resort ever since.

She worked for the civil and military store in Weymouth, as a secretary and at the National Assistance Board, which after the Second World War distributed benefits to people in need.

Until she was 92, Phyllis swam in Weymouth Bay at Greenhill every day and said she put that and the fact she was always very independent down as the secrets of her longevity.

She said: “It’s what kept me going so long.”

Phyllis, who never married, had strong ties to the community and was a Sunday school teacher at the now closed Gloucester Street Sunday School.

She loved to cycle and went off on many holidays both on her own and with friends, cycling across places including Scotland and staying in hostels.

She now lives at Kingsley Court Care Home in Weymouth.

Manager Becky Chapman said that Phyllis was very special to all the staff.

She said: “She’s just lovely, she’s a pleasure to look after.

“We had a party and her family came down.”