A hospital volunteer who survived the Blitz has been thanked for her service on her 100th birthday.

London North West University Healthcare NHS trust has congratulated Beryl Carr, who hit the milestone this week.

Mrs Carr helps out once a month in Ealing Hospital, where she has been preparing food and working on the till since 2003.

“I certainly don’t feel it [100-years-old],” said Mrs Carr, who moved back to west London to be near her daughter Val when her husband died.

“I grew up in Ealing but was lonely when I came back.

"I moved from a lovely bungalow in the country to a one bedroom flat. It felt like living in a box so my daughter suggested volunteering. It was the best thing I could have done.”

Mrs Carr was born in 1922 when George V was on the throne, Gandhi was imprisoned for opposing British rule in India, and archaeologist Howard Carter unearthed Tutankhamun’s tomb.

She survived the Blitz during the Second World War which included being bombed out of her home and helped the war effort by sewing barrage balloons and working as a fire watcher as German bombs fell on the capital.

“We spent a lot of time in the bomb shelter in our back garden and one of the nights we chanced sleeping inside there was an air raid and the house was hit. I ended up under a cupboard covered in plaster.”

Mrs Carr's friends at the café laid on a birthday cake for the special day, although the hardworking 100-year-old had to be convinced to take time out from promoting a charity raffle.

She added: “Volunteering gave me a new lease on life and it is something I would recommend to anyone regardless of their age.

“I’ve made a fair few sandwiches in my time but I really enjoy the social side of it. I can’t think of anything worse than being stuck in front of the TV all day.

“The great thing about volunteering is that you are helping other people but in funny way you are helping yourself as well.”

Val said: “She’s so full of beans I have to tell her to slow down sometimes.”