The last surviving child of a family of more than 20 children celebrated her 100th birthday yesterday.

Dorothy Pearman hit the milestone at the Sylvia Richards care home in St George’s, where she celebrated with her six children and three sons-in-law.

Beverly Jones-Smith, one of Ms Pearman’s daughters, said: “It’s just the nine of us having our cake and ice cream, chatting for an hour and seeing her on the other side of the visitor window.

“We can’t do too much because of Covid, but we really wanted to do something special for her.”

Ms Pearman, who grew up in Paget with 11 brothers and 10 sisters, marked her century alongside care home staff and fellow residents.

She was also visited last Sunday by about 40 grandchildren and great-grandchildren, who turned up to give their birthday greetings a day early.

Ms Jones-Smith, from Southampton, said that her mother was a “joyous” and “happy” woman who had made many friends over the years.

She added: “Everything I am is because of her.”

She admitted: “If it wasn’t for Covid the whole neighbourhood would have been there, but we had to abide by the rules of Sylvia Richardson.

“But we visit her every week so we’re used to the restrictions.”