IT'S A double whammy this year for holidaymakers Clara Kirk and her husband Roy.

As well as notching up Clara's 100th birthday last weekend, the couple has also just celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary.

And though Clara and Roy live in Leeds, they decided to mark the occasion in their "second home", Bournemouth.

"We've been coming to the town every year for more than 30 years," said Roy.

"Bournemouth and Dorset have been very good to us. It's a beautiful place to visit, and we've made a lot of friends here."

Roy, 89, married Clara back in 1944, but the 11-year age difference raised a lot of eyebrows during the war years.

"I was the original toy boy," he laughs. "My parents were dead against it and there were a lot of comments that the marriage would wouldn't last.

"But here we are celebrating our 60th anniversary."

A former cook, Clara still hits the keep fit sessions at her local over 55s club every week.

And it definitely keeps her in top shape, she said, as she celebrated with staff and local friends at the Cliff Court Hotel on the West Cliff.

"I owe my health and activity to keep fit," said Clara.

"People say to me that if they look as good as I do at 100 years old, they'll be happy."

And restaurant manager at the hotel, Sue Skein, agreed: "She's the oldest guest we've ever had, but she's always the first out on the dance floor at Christmas. "She's fitter than me."

First published: September 16