A WIDNES mum who has been good with arithmetic has reached a great number.

Esther Pearson has celebrated her 100th birthday with her family.

She was born on Cliff Street and went to Warrington Road Primary School and Widnes Grammar School and then became one of the first pupils at Wade Deacon when it opened.

Son Keith said: "Mum has always been good at arithmetic. I’ve always been good with figures and I credit her with that.

"She was offered a place to study maths at Cambridge when she was 17. Unfortunately there was no free education then and mum couldn’t go as she had to go out to work to help the family finances."

Esther started work as a librarian at Widnes library in 1936."

This is where she met dad," said Keith. "He came in as a borrower, saw her, fancied her and wooed her with boxes of chocolates."

She got married in 1942 and moved to Tennyson Road.

She then got a job working for ICI in offices attached to their labs in Widnes.

She left to start a family and after having three children she went back to work in the treasurer's department at the council before retiring in 1983.

Mum-of-three Esther has nine grandchildren and 11 great grandchildren.

Keith added: "It is very interesting to talk to her about her wartime experiences.

"Liverpool was heavily bombed and mum talks about going in to Liverpool, shopping the morning after a raid.

"Next to Lime Street station there is a big block of student accommodation called Grand Central. Back in the war it was a huge crater filled with water which the fire brigade ran hoses from to fight the fires.

"Mum talks about how you had to step over the hoses which snaked around the city centre as they were still putting fires out.

"Dad served as a fire warden in Liverpool after doing a full day's work in Birkenhead."