One of the last Victorians still alive in Britain celebrated her 107th birthday in an Oxfordshire care home on Wednesday.

Florence Webb, believed to be the oldest person in Oxfordshire, was born on June 13, 1900, when Queen Victoria was still on the throne.

The former housewife, known to her friends as 'Flo', was celebrating with a lunchtime birthday party at the Anchor Care Home, in Ferendune Court, Faringdon, with the 48 residents..

Mrs Webb said she was very excited to receive her seventh card from the Queen.

Care home manager Samantha Bell said: "She is aware that it's her birthday, because she docked a few years off her age as all ladies like to do, then had a little chuckle at herself.

"I don't think she knows that she could be the oldest woman in Oxfordshire. She just knows that she is a great age. I've never looked after anyone as old as her before."

Mrs Webb was born in Kidderminister, Worcestershire, the youngest of 10 children.

She married Harold Webb at St Mary's Church, Kidderminster, in 1924.

Mr Webb was a Co-op manager and served in the Home Guard during the Second World War. Mrs Webb has been a widow for more than 30 years.

In 1989, she moved to Oxfordshire to be near her family. She has one daughter, two grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

When Mrs Webb was born, crossing the Atlantic took weeks by ship. There was no such thing as an aeroplane.

Queen Victoria was still on the throne aged 81, although she died a year later.

It was hard work on the home front, as electric vacuum cleaners were not invented until 1901, washing machines until 1907 and lawnmowers until 1902.

Early films were being made, after the first cinema was built five years before in 1895.

Schoolchildren worked in silence and studied subjects such as posture, needlework, religious instruction and dictation on the subject of the British Empire.

Art critic John Ruskin, playwright Oscar Wilde and philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche all died in 1900 and Sir Winston Churchill was elected to Parliament for the first time.

There were key battles of the Boer War in South Africa, the opening of London's Hippodrome at Charing Cross and the Paris Olympics.

Meanwhile, rumour has it that there's something in the water at Green Gates Nursing Home in North Oxford, where three residents have celebrated birthdays over 100 in a month.

Kathleen Bridges turned 100 on May 18, while Tess Gerrett turned 105 on Wednesday, June 6, and Albert Dunkley celebrated 103 happy returns on Saturday, June 9.

Manager's receptionist Jane Dix said: "It's special enough to turn 100, but to have three people aged 100-plus must be pretty unusual.

"There must be something in the water. The three were all very pleased to receive letters from the Queen too - and some have more than one.

"Maybe we should invest in a special board to pin them all on, especially as we have two more ladies, Daisy King and Lillian Williams, both turning 99."

Mr Dunkley credited his longevity not with something in the water, but something in beer. He said: "I never drank the hard stuff, like whisky, but I enjoyed the odd beer.

"Maybe it's being in Green Gates - all the girls are lovely here."

As is the custom at Green Gates, all three centenarians celebrated their birthdays with specially made cakes.

Jane Dix said: "Our chef makes lovely birthday cakes, which she decorates with flowers and a single candle, rather than a hundred or more, which could get tricky."