FORMER nurse and great-grandmother, Nesta King of Mudeford, has died at the age of 103.

Born in Wales to her mining father Leonard Williams and mother Molly and had two sisters and a brother.

She worked as a Governess’s assistant and after moving to Bristol she trained as a nanny, working in Bristol, Warwick, Jersey and on a vineyard in France.

She moved back to Bristol to marry George King in 1934 and later the couple welcomed two daughters, Barbara and Julia, and a son, Richard.

Then in 1947 they bought a small hotel in Friar’s Cliff and relocated to Christchurch. Their son, Richard, died from leukaemia in 1957 and six months later, husband George suffered a fatal heart attack.

Nesta carried on nursing on the children’s ward at Christchurch hospital and ran her own retail business, Babyworld, for 10 years.

She spoke to Daily Echo on her 100th birthday in July 2013 as she enjoyed a party with around 60 of her friends and family at the home in Christchurch she shared with her daughter, Barbara and son-in-law, Ian. She had lived in her own flat in Mudeford until earlier that year.

At the time, Nesta said that her family remained the key to happiness, before adding: "I spend my days with my family here and go out and about for meals. You never know who’s going to pop round and I never have to ask for anything.

Asked how she felt about being a centenarian, she said: “Apart from not having a lot of energy I feel just the same as ever. I’ve never thought much of age anyway."

Her daughter, Barbara, who is known as Babs, had said that her mother had 'hardly changed' in the past two decades leading up to Nesta's special birthday. Her son-in-law, Ian, had described Nesta as 'fantastic' and said she was 'the best mother-in-law in the world.'

She died at home in Mudeford on Thursday, August 18 and her funeral will take place at Bournemouth Crematorium on Thursday, September 8 at 1pm.