A 100-year-old woman says the secret to a long life is “always keeping a smile on your face”.

Teresa Burns celebrated her centenary year at Wilsmere House Care home, in Wilsmere Drive, Harrow and Wealdstone, on June 7.

Staff at the care home laid out a red carpet for her and she received a card from the Queen, as well as the secretary of the Department of Work and Pensions.

During the day, Ms Burns said it was her “best birthday so far and hoped to live at least another five years to do it all over again”.

The former nurse grew up in Cork, in Ireland, before settling in Stanmore in her late twenties after getting a job at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital, in Brockley Hill, Stanmore.

She met her husband at the hospital, where he also worked as a nurse, but they did not have any children together.

They enjoyed travelling round Europe a few times each year and visited Switzerland, Germany and Belgium.

A devout Roman Catholic, she believes the key to a long and prosperous life is to “keep the faith and always wear a smile no matter what”.