Alice is looking great at 108 the amazing life of Scotland’s oldest woman

A former nanny has become the oldest Scot after cheating death numerous times.

Alice Horne contacted polio as child, was buried under the rubble of a Luftwaffe bombing raid and survived an accident that left her wheelchair-bound for most of her life.

However, the plucky pensioner never let hardship dampen her fiery spirit or ambition. Instead she amazed family and friends when she learned to swim aged 70.

Indeed she was heavily involved in sport until she was 100, competing in the javelin, shot putt, bowling and darts.

Amazingly, she still lives independently in the idyllic cottage she’s called home for more than half a century, surrounded by cabinets full of her sporting medals and trophies.

Even an attack by thieves who forced their way into her cottage in 2005 couldn’t put her off staying in her own home.

Speaking on her key to living longer, Alice said: “You have to keep smiling and have a positive outlook. There’s no point in complaining or grumbling.

“You have to stay happy and help other people.”

Alice is now the oldest Scot alive following the death of 109-year-old Jessie Gallan, who passed away peacefully in her own bed on Thursday morning with family by her side.

Jessie, from Aberdeen, once put her longevity down to the fact she never married and described men as “more trouble than they’re worth”.

Similarly, Alice has never married.

Alice aged 21

Nephew Ken Horne said: “Alice has made the odd comment that she had no time for men.”

Alice was one of 10 children born into a fishing family in Alloa on February 6, 1907, to parents Margaret and Alexander Horne.

As a child she helped her father as he fished on his rowing boat in the Forth in the days when Alloa was a bustling harbour.

She contracted polio as a child which left her with a limp, although her family said this never hampered her.

During the Second World War she was buried under the rubble of a matchstick factory after the German blitz on Liverpool.

She moved from Scotland to Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire, when she was 20 years old to work as a maid and went on to become a nanny.

When she was 50, she was involved in an accident that left her wheelchair bound, although the family doesn’t know exactly what happened and Alice has never discussed it with them.

As well as sport, Alice loves gardening, animal TV shows and still gets excited when Scotland play rugby.

Ken added: “She has a positive outlook on life she just goes for everything. She has carers that come in to help her at home but she’s still fiercely independent. It’s always been her house and there’s no way she would ever move out.”

Ken said fashion-mad Alice always wants to go shopping for clothes when he takes her out on the town.

And he puts her amazing health down to her love of food.

She also loves the occasional glass of sherry and never says no to a shandy if Ken is having a beer.

Ken said: “You can put anything down in front of her and she’ll eat it.

“It doesn’t matter if it’s a really spicy meal or mince and tatties. She loves her food, especially Scotch broth.”

Jennifer Burns of the British Geriatrics Society said: “We know that improvements in diet, exercise and medical care are helping people to live longer and stay healthier, more active and more independent into older age. The fact that Alice is still living at home and enjoying life at the age of 108 is truly remarkable, and should serve as an inspiration to us all.”