Former Wiltshire police constable Kenneth Cruse, who was in the force for more than 30 years celebrated his 100th birthday yesterday.

Mr Cruse was born in Oxford on January 21, 1915 and moved to Wiltshire in 1935 at the age of 20 when he joined the police.

After qualifying as a policeman Mr Cruse was sent for training in Preston, Lancashire to learn how to teach advanced police driver training.

He then spent almost 10 years at the driver training school, on Bath Road in Devizes, before being made a sergeant at the station in Warminster.

After 30 years he left the force in 1965 and became a county court bailiff in Swindon before retiring in 1980.

Mr Cruse met his wife Gwendolyn in his early years as a policeman. He said: “In those days we always used to march down the street to our beats and the ladies would always make an excuse to come out and have a look at us all.

“I met Gwen when my friend was meant to be meeting her. But then he couldn’t make it so I went instead and the rest is history.”

The couple married in the summer of 1940 in St Andrew’s Church, Blunsdon and were together for 71 years until Mrs Cruse died in 2012 aged 96.

Mrs Cruse was a buyer and window dresser at McIlroys in Swindon before she had their two children Susan, now 72, and John, 70.

They lived in various locations across the county, because of Mr Cruse’s work, before moving to Elizabeth Drive, Devizes in 1982. The couple lived there until 2011 when they moved into the Avonmead Care Home.

Mr Cruse has four grandchildren Nick, Amanda, Angela and Elizabeth and nine great grandchildren. He says he doesn’t have a secret to his long life as says he feels the same as when he was a younger man.

“I don’t really have a secret to my long life; I smoked until I was 80 and have always enjoyed a drink. I feel the same as I did when I was 50, I don’t feel I’ve changed at all.”

He has been looking forward to receiving his third card from the Queen; the other two were for his wedding anniversaries.

On his birthday Mr Cruse was joined by family and friends for a celebration with the staff at Avonmead.