AN OTLEY resident has celebrated her 100th birthday with family and friends.

Mary Simpson marked the occasion at her house in Otley, where she has lived since 1948, on Saturday, March 14. Mrs Simpson moved to the town with her late husband, Jack Desmond Simpson - who became a councillor, Honorary Citizen and Mayor - at the end of the Second World War.

She went on to become a driving force behind Otley’s first Oxfam shops and was an active Methodist Church and WRVS member and involved with several charities. Mrs Simpson’s daughter Ann Olesqui-Meadus, grandsons Jean-Claude Olesqui and Matthew Shaw, and great grandchildren Solenne and Xavier Olesqu were among those who joined her for her big day.

Mrs Olesqui-Meadus said: “She had a lovely time and enjoyed chatting to old friends and family, with her other grandson and great-grandchildren coming along later too - so she had three grandsons and four great grandchildren with her. She also received lots of lovely cards including one from the Queen.”