A CHEERFUL 99-year-old woman who was granted her wish to swim again has said that staying active is the key to enjoying old age.

Dorothy Hill, who grew up in Liverpool but moved to Dial Street in Warrington after getting married, visited The Village Hotel for a dip in the pool with staff from the Heathfield Residential Home where she now lives.

“It’s been years since I swam and I have been enjoying every minute,” she said.

“I love swimming because it’s so refreshing.

“How many ladies or gentlemen do you know of my age who go swimming? I would recommend it to everybody.”

Dorothy, who turns 100 on October 29, has three children, seven grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.

She said: “I used to come here years ago, when I was 90, with my daughter.

“When I told her I was going swimming she said, are you sure you can do it? I told her, once I’m in the water I will be alright again.”

Dorothy started work as a dancer in pantomimes and touring shows as soon as she left St Augustine’s School in Liverpool and later went to work for the family hairdressing business.

She said: “I have always been on the go and on my feet. I worked in a salon near the Empire in Liverpool, I did tints and manicures and eyebrow arching – everything.

“Eventually I had my own salon and I worked until I was 80.

“I have had a very active life and a very active brain.”

Dorothy has been swimming since the age of seven and said her children love being in the water too because they took family holidays at Tenby in Wales, where they always swam in the sea.

She said: “I met a Warrington man when the war was on and I came here.

“I lost my husband when he was 84 and I miss him every day.”

Dorothy has been living at Heathfield Residential Home for the past six years and said the staff look after her very well because she is their oldest resident.

“We were talking about things we wish we could do again one day and I said, you know what I would love to do? Go for a swim.”

Manager Glenys Young said Dorothy is one of their most fun-loving and active residents.

After enjoying her dip in the pool, Dorothy said she is looking forward to swimming regularly again.