Tot of sherry keeps Hilda going!

Hilda Jackson — 107 yesterday

A SHERRY a day is the perfect tonic for Hilda Jackson who celebrated her 107th birthday yesterday.

The great-grandmother, believed to be Lancashire’s oldest woman, enjoys a sip every day at Werneth Lodge Care Home, in Manchester Road.

Mrs Jackson, born in 1903, the year the Wright Brothers made their first flight, had her hair done and a manicure for a buffet and musical entertainment for friends at the care home.

And a telegram from the Queen made her day extra special.

Nicola Sweeney, deputy manager, said: “Hilda said ‘I can’t believe the Queen knows its my birthday’.

“She gets lots of cards and letters from her friends and enjoys a glass of sherry, which she says keeps her going.”

The fiercely independent centenarian lived on her own in Harrow Avenue, Hollins, before moving to the care home when she was 102.

One of three sisters, Hilda’s father was a butcher who ran four shops in Oldham.

Her late husband, Herbert, was a maintenance engineer with the Co-op and Hilda was a telephonist at Platt Brothers Engineering during her working life.

Her only son, Peter, died in 2004. Hilda has three grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.