TRIBUTES have been paid to an adventurous Swindon great-grandmother who lived to the incredible age of 107.

Thought to be the oldest person in Haydon Wick and one of the oldest in Swindon, Kathleen Unsworth was born in Derby but moved here shortly after having her only child.

A lifelong lover of travel, Kathleen spent many happy times abroad while the world went through huge changes. To celebrate turning 90, she treated herself to a cruise around the globe, and went on three cruises a year well into her retirement.

Known to friends and family as Kay, she used to work as a civil servant, which is how she met her husband Frank, as well as working with old-fashioned television sets, fitting tubes into the appliances.

She lived independently at home until she was 101, then moved to the Rose Cottage nursing home in Haydon Wick.

Staff helped her celebrate each of her last six birthdays, when she enjoyed receiving a card from the Queen, bouquets of flowers from her grandchildren Steven and Lisa and four great-grandchildren.

Her friends Sheila Carter, who she met on a cruise in 1998, and Penny Saunders, a former neighbour from Beatrice Street, often came to visit, and her daughter Kay flew in from Texas.

Kay Joiner said: “She was a wonderful, energetic woman with a zest for life, and she loved going sightseeing and talking about her travels.

“I remember receiving a call from her out of the blue one day. She said ‘Guess where I am?’ and told me she’d flown to New York City on Concorde for the weekend. She went home on the Queen Elizabeth II.

“Though I’d married an American and moved away, we still got to see each other quite a lot and she’s visited America several times.

“She was in really good health until she was around 100. Mum exercised a lot and was very health-conscious, she liked to keep fit and walk everywhere – she never had a car – and I think that helped her when she got older.

“The care home staff called to tell me the bad news. I knew it was coming because I’d heard she wasn’t well and had been calling her every day.

“Think about all the major events she’s lived through – she was born just after the Titanic sank and went through the Spanish flu pandemic, both world wars and all sorts - she led quite a life.”

Kathleen Unsworth died on May 3.