- 102 year old gives up cigerettes!
And Mrs Cowell, who lives independently in Ainscough Brook House in Ribbleton, Preston, is celebrating her milestone birthday today with five generations of family at one of her favourite places – the pub.
Valerie Houghton (left) with her mother Clara Cowell as she celebrates her 102nd birthday
Mrs Cowell, a former tailoress, lit her first cigarette in 1931, and has puffed her way through two or three a day since – a total of almost 60,000.
But now, on the advice of her family, who were concerned about the falling ash, she has given up.