PAT Aldridge, believed to be the oldest person in Somerset, has died at Nynehead Court, near Wellington - just a month after her 107th birthday.

Pat was born in Solihull on November 26, 1914, four months after the outbreak of the First World War. One of eight children, she enjoyed an idyllic childhood living on a farm and was the only one of her siblings to reach the age of 100.

She was married to her husband Ken for 52 years until she was widowed in 1990 and lived independently in the local community until recently. She decided to move to Nynehead Court because her family were moving away and she wanted to remain close to her friends.

On her last birthday, she enjoyed a day of celebrations with her family visiting in the morning before a party in her honour in the home’s orangery in the afternoon.