A World War Two veteran, Ivy Meenan, has celebrated her 105th birthday, attributing her long life to a happy marriage and plenty of sleep. She marked the occasion with a party at the Wilson Keys retirement home in Rugeley, Staffordshire, surrounded by friends, family and RAF veterans.

Mrs Meenan was born in Wolstanton, Staffordshire, and joined the Auxiliary Territorial Service, the women's branch of the British army, at the age of 20, serving for four years. Stationed in Cornwall, she worked as a range finder helping to target enemy bombers within an anti-aircraft gun unit, and met her late husband Johnnie, an RAF serviceman, at a dance in 1942. Asked for the secret to her longevity, she called it "a mystery", citing a good life and happy marriage, and joked that she does a lot of sleeping. Her son Peter, who is himself approaching 80, said it was strange to still have a mother who thinks he is adolescent.