A FORMER biker who has dedicated her life to family has celebrated turning 108 – making her the New Forest’s oldest resident.

Mum-of-six Annie Rideout, of New Milton, whose eldest child Tony is 87, was born in Brockenhurst in 1907 – just eight days before Robert Baden-Powell formed the Boy Scouts and in the same year psychiatrists Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung met for the first time.

Annie boasts 14 grandchildren, 15 great-grandchildren and two great-great-grandchildren, many of whom crowded into the New Milton Memorial Centre on Friday to help her mark the occasion.

One of her grandchildren is ex-Premier League star Paul Rideout, who famously scored the winning goal for Everton in the 1995 FA Cup Final against Manchester United.

And it is that family strength and pride in their achievements that Annie credits with her longevity, telling the Daily Echo: “My family means everything to me. They take such good care of me, they are always there for me and I am just overwhelmed they have organised something so special.”

That something special came in the form of a concert featuring Todd Miller and the Joe Loss Orchestra, allowing Annie to enjoy some of her big band favourites.

Her family say she was an adventurer as a youngster, demonstrated best by her love of her motorbike, which she enjoyed riding between her former home in Weymouth and Portland.

Always clean-living, son David said the only alcohol his mum has ever touched is the very occasional glass of Stone's Ginger Wine.

“She’s never really had even a moment of sickness herself,” he said. “Yet she nursed her aunt for 10 years, her mother for 10 years, her husband for 10 years – and here she is, still going. She is remarkable. She is so caring; we're all just so proud of her.”