Ilona Belanyi, of Vivian Avenue, Wembley, celebrated her centenary with friends and family

A Hungarian grandmother who has worked in Brent all her life has celebrated her centenary in the borough.

Ilona Belanyi, of Vivian Avenue, Wembley, celebrated her 100th birthday with friends and family at The Arena Restaurant in Harrow Road, Wembley, on June 17.

Amongst those present was Ms Belanyi’s 90-year-old brother, who made the trip from Canada especially for the occasion.

Ms Belanyi fled to England as a refugee in 1956 from Budapest in Hungary with her husband and son Rudi as part of the Hungarian Revolution.

She spent three years in Ealing before moving to Vivian Avenue in 1959 where she has lived ever since, working full-time until she was 88.

Her son Rudi Belanyi, 65, helped to organise the event. He said: “It went really well – it was excellent.

“She has been to the restaurant before and she likes the place. There were quite a few people there and we enjoyed it very much.”

Mr Belanyi revealed his mother is very capable, looking after herself and keeping very active despite her years and working full time as an administrator for electronics company JVC.

He added: “It was a relatively quiet evening but especially enjoyable for my mother. It was good for her to see her friends and family. A good time was had by all.”

Jimmy Lagos, 60, owner of Arena Restaurant revealed this was the first time he had ever had a centurion celebrate their birthday in his eatery.

He said: “This was a birthday to remember. The whole restaurant was singing happy birthday and we had a toast to the birthday girl – everyone stood up.

“She looked a lot younger,” he added.