A RENOWNED amateur painter in Swanage has celebrated her centenary surrounded by family and friends.

Nancie Hart marked her 100th birthday at the Swanage Conservative Club with balloons, cake and the traditional card from Her Majesty the Queen.

And it seems the centenarian could not stop smiling as she regaled the party-goers with stories from her past.

Born Nancie Munson on October 15, 1916, she was raised in Chelmsford.

Her parents were Jessie Wells and Richard Thomas Munson who also had another daughter, Nancie's only sibling, Mollie.

Her father was a cabinet maker and her mother a dressmaker.

Nancie's first job was at a German bank at Fenchurch Street in London before she started working at the Bank of England at the age of 18.

When the Second World War broke out, Nancie was 23. Her and her colleagues were forced to work down in the vaults of the bank to avoid the air raids. She owes the noise endured during the bombings to the hearing problems she suffers today.

While holidaying in Swanage she met her future husband Leslie Wilfred Hart. They were married on May 17, 1941.

Shortly afterwards Leslie was deployed to the Middle East. Later in the same year Mrs Hart received a letter from the War Office informing her Leslie had been the victim of an explosion. She has a picture of him in the hospital.

Unfortunately the incident left Leslie with memory loss.

Loving the coastal town so much, the couple moved to Swanage around 50 years ago.

They had one son, Richard, now 65, who attended Saturday's surprise party with his wife, June.

The party also saw Nancie's nephew, Guy Wilson attend, with his two granddaughters.

Leslie passed away in 1989. The following year, Mrs Hart then lost her sister.

Speaking from her Burrstone Mead home, Mrs Hart said her secret to longevity lies in her paintings. She mostly enjoys painting landscapes of places she's visited, animals and still life portraits.

"I put it all down to my painting," she said. "It was so wonderful when I got involved with it - you didn't have time to think about yourself, you just got lost in the work."