An Enfieldian has become the oldest woman in England after celebrating her 111th birthday.

Judy Ingamells, who was born on January 12, 1894, marked the remarkable occasion at a party thrown by family and friends at Springview Care Home in Crescent Road. She was joined by Mayor John Egan and enjoyed her eighth birthday card from the Queen.

Mrs Ingamells' family believe she is England's oldest living person, and the second oldest person in Great Britain.

The title of Britain's oldest woman is held by Lucy D'Abreu, of Stirling in Scotland, who was born in 1892 and is 112.

Born in Maidenhead, Mrs Ingamells moved to Enfield at the beginning of World War II, where she married a florist, Percy, who worked for a family firm based in Covent Garden.

She lived in other areas around the UK, and worked as a milliner before coming back to settle in Enfield in 1990.

Mrs Ingamells has three daughters, five grandchildren, four great-grand children and two great-great-grandchildren.

She has lived through the reigns of six monarchs, both world wars and crossed three centuries. She was 20 when the Great War started and was in her 50s by the end of World War II.

The secret to Mrs Ingamells' longevity, says daughter Pat Bull, is to never look back always look forward which she is certainly doing'.

A hearty breakfast of bacon and mushrooms, which she enjoyed up until a few years ago, is also believed to be the secret to Mrs Ingamells' success.

She still enjoys keeping busy and likes to tidy her care home flat and, now that her eyesight is failing, keeps up to date with local and international news by listening to Talking Newspapers.