A DEDICATED volunteer has no plans to stop working at a charity shop after reaching the grand age of 98-years-old.

Edie Tyler works at the St Luke’s Hospice charity shop in Wickford, helping every Friday.

She said: “I like volunteering here very much, you get to meet people and it gets you out of the house and gives you independence. Plus, it makes me dress up, rather than sitting in at home.

“The job is quite interesting being on the till because everyone comes your way eventually, so I get to speak to lots of different people and also people that come back.”

Despite retiring at 61, Edie has always been active, even at the age of 98. In her spare time she attends various social clubs, including playing cards.

She said: “I really love playing cards, it makes you use your brain. It’s an afternoon out for me.

“I’ve been active my whole life. When I was 14 I worked as a machinist and we relocated to Luton in the Second World War. Then I stopped for a while when I had my daughter, and carried on after that when she went to school.”

Edie and her husband also ran a RAF social club for 18 years in Romford, where she was a steward, and would serve beverages to those serving in the Royal Air Force.

Sadly, Edie’s husband passed away, but they would have been together 77 years this year. She said: “It didn’t feel like work really, we both really enjoyed it. It was like running a pub, really fun.

“Age is just a number. I feel healthy and keep active.

Shop manager, Angela O’Malley, said: “Edie has been here with us quite a long time now, she is definitely like part of the furniture and is an asset to the team. It’s so nice to have her here, she’s knows a lot of people from Wickford having lived here most of her life and enjoys socialising with the customers. We look after her, making her tea and biscuits. She thinks the world of our staff.”