FOREST-born Dorothy Knight celebrated her 100th birthday surrounded by her family and friends.

There was cake, a card from the Queen and balloons for the celebrations at the Brockhampton Court Nursing Home near Hereford where she now lives.

She was born Dorothy Sparrow at Wigpool, near Mitcheldean, on August 3, 1921 and went to Lea School.

She left school at 14 and went into domestic service at a house at Bushey, near Watford, in Hertfordshire.

Soon after the outbreak of war in 1939 she took a job at the Royal Ordnance Factory at Rotherwas, one of the largest explosive filling sites in the UK.

Her nickname at the factory was Goldie because of her golden, curly hair.

After the war she married Doug Knight who had served in North Africa and who became a Post Office telephone engineer.

The couple first lived in rented rooms in Whitecross where their eldest son, Dennis, was born.

They then became one of the first families to move into the newly-built Haylease Crescent in Hunderton, Hereford where they paid 11 shillings a week in rent and 10 shillings in rates.

Three of her children, Judith, Tom and Robert were with her for her special birthday party and while Dennis was unable to travel from his home in Vancouver, she was able to speak to him on her big day via the internet.

“I’ve been very blessed with good health and I’ve had lovely people around me all my life,’ said Mrs Knight, who moved into Brockhampton Court two years ago.

“I’ve been able to get around and my mind is still working reasonably well.”

Her son Tom described his mum as ‘amazing’ and added: ‘‘She grew up as one of five children in a tiny cottage in the Forest of Dean, where she walked several miles every week just going to and from school.

“Her stamina, fortitude, strong faith and loving family have seen her through and she has been gifted with a remarkable constitution.She has thrived since moving into Brockhampton, where the staff have been brilliant.”