THERE was an age gap of 99 years when an Exmouth great grandmother marked her centenary on the same day her great granddaughter was one.

THERE was an age gap of 99 years when an Exmouth great grandmother marked her centenary - on the same day her great granddaughter was one.More than 30 family members broke out the bubbly in a double celebration - the hundredth birthday of Rita May Bovey and Florence May Clay's first.The party at the Rest Haven Residential Home saw Rita surrounded by family from Spain, Asia, Cambridge, London and Kent - including her two daughters, seven grandchildren and 10 great grandchildren.Rita, a former secretary, was born in Leicester, but moved to Exmouth in 1950 with her family and second husband - her first husband, a fighter pilot, had died in action in Egypt in World War Two.They opened a popular boarding house in Bicton Street. Her daughters, Jo and Jennette, and late son were born and raised in Exmouth.Daughter Jo Woodgate, of Normandy Close, said: "Mentally, my mother is as strong as an ox - and, if she wasn't so frail, I'm sure she would be enjoying everybody running around after her!"One-year-old Florence is the granddaughter of Jennette, and came down for the celebrations with her parents, Rita's granddaughter Tasneem and her husband Matt Clay from Kent.Jo said: "When Florence was born on my mother's birthday, she was thrilled to bits.