A grandmother with a taste for Guinness has celebrated reaching her 100th birthday.

Mary ‘Paddy’ Tipping marked the day surrounded by family and friends at a garden party hosted by the Fitzwarren House care home.

She enjoyed receiving presents, balloons, a card from the Queen and not one but two birthday cakes - one of them shaped like a pint of Guinness, which is something she credits with helping her live such a long and happy life.

Mary said: “Working for so long kept me active and the daily Guinness never did me any harm.”

She still enjoys her daily bottle of the black stuff.

Her granddaughter Lorraine added: “It was a lovely day and something that Nan had focussed her sights on achieving, especially in the last few months.

“She has always been full of energy and has worked hard all her life.”

Although under five feet tall and slight, her family says Mary’s a feisty and determined force to be reckoned with. She's well-known around the town, often seen wearing a stylish hat during trips to the Co-op.

Born and raised in Highworth’s High Street, Mary grew up with her older sister Betty and parents Fred and Annie Croome who ran the town’s grocer’s shop.

After living and working in Oxford with Betty for a while, she married her first husband Arthur Gerald Day in 1944 and had three sons Tony, David and Ted who gave her 10 much-loved grandchildren.

She has always lived around Highworth, spending more than 50 years in Queens Avenue, initially with her first husband until his death in 1968, and then with her second, Jack Tipping, who died in 2009.

Mary was secretary for the Swindon-based Amalgamated Union of Engineering Workers until retiring at 60, But that did not stop her from working. She held part-time roles at Honda and as cleaner at Highworth police station.

Lorraine added: “She loved this job and only retired from it relatively recently - and even then was very reluctant to do so!”

At the age of 70 she proudly became the town crier for Highworth, a role previously held by her grandfather Jeremy Croome in the 1880s.

In her late 90’s, she moved into Fitzwarren House and been a lively member of the care home’s community.

She enjoyed holidays with her sons and their families, including cruising on the QE2. Paddy always liked being out and about and treated herself to a Morris Minor 1000 convertible that was her pride and joy. One of the things she misses is no longer being able to take to the open road whenever the fancy takes her.