A great-grandmother who has lived in the same area for 72 years was given a surprise 100th birthday street party by her neighbours.

Lillian Crutch will celebrate her century today, surrounded by her family, but neighbours amazed at her longevity decided to have a special celebration on Sunday at the bottom of Effingham Road in Broad Green.

The birthday celebration was organised by Kay Clarke, a neighbour who first met Mrs Crutch at a street party for the royal wedding in April.

She said: “She sat out here and celebrated the royal wedding with us all afternoon. We were all amazed at how well she was doing for a woman of 99.

“I decided to organise a party for her and invited the whole estate over to celebrate.”

Mrs Clarke cooked up a roasted feast with the help of her neighbours and then surprised the centenarian on Sunday, her daughter Dawn Parker was there to celebrate with her mum.

The great-grandmother told the Croydon Guardian she never expected to be celebrating a century.

The former shop worker - who still does most of her own house work - said her most vivid memories are of the war years.

She was born on June 8, 1911 and has lived in Croydon all her life. She started working at the age of 10, cleaning people’s doorsteps.

She said: “I was married on April 16, 1932. My husband was a brewer. He was called up and went to war, fighting in Germany. He was captured and was a prisoner of war for six years.”

Mrs Crutch said she heard about her husband’s plight through a letter from the army and had no idea whether she would ever seem him again.

“I had two little babies at home and I had to support them. I worked at Croydon Airport wiring up electric plates. After the war when my husband came home, he was too ill to work and so I worked at British Home Stores and Marks and Spencer’s.

“I have worked hard and lived a happy life bringing up my children.”