EVERY morning before Alfred Wright gets up he performs around 300 exercises and then he walks to Roker Park in Northwich.

He believes this is the reason he celebrated his 100th birthday last Friday.

Alfred, who lives at Daneside Nursing Home, has now received four telegrams from the Queen.

He was married to Mary for 71 years and received telegrams for his 60th, 70th and 71st wedding anniversaries.

Sadly Mary died last year, aged 96, so Alfred moved from Marsland Road in Sale to Northwich.

He celebrated with a party at the home on Friday and then on Saturday members of his family joined him on a picnic to Tatton Park.

Alfred left school when he was 14 and worked on various farms, which his father owned.

These included Crowley Hall Farm near High Legh, Marsh Gate Farm near Norton and later on Heyrose Farm, which was subsequently turned into a golf course.

Alfred recalled one occasion in 1920 when he was transporting hay and straw on a horse and cart through Northwich.

He said there used to be shutters over the shops, which someone would pull down by a pole in Witton Street.

Alfred said: "As we were coming we caught the blinds and all the hay spilled onto the road. We were fined 10 shillings."

Alfred eventually went farming in Canada, travelling by boat to Nova Scotia.

He took a train from Nova Scotia to Winnipeg.

Alfred said: "We left at 3pm on Sunday and got there at 9am on Thursday.

"I slept on top of a luggage rack while two people slept underneath the rack."

When Alfred came home from Canada he went into the milk business, at Wrights Dairies in Sale, which he eventually sold to Express Dairies in 1964.

He has two daughters, Barbara Bloor and Margaret Dickenson, six grandchildren and 14 great grandchildren.

Alfred added: "My long life is due to no smoking, no drinking, lots of exercise and walking. I've got young feet."

vkandel@guardiangrp.co.uk