HE may be one of the oldest men in the borough, but Albert Taylor has not let old age stop him from leading a ‘normal’ life.

Mr Taylor, of Compton Grove, Kingswinford, turned 105 recently, and his son Robert said age has “never been an issue” to his father.

He said: “A lot of it has to do with keeping his mind and body active.

“He always dresses up to go out and doesn’t like to sit down, using the old adage “If you don’t use it, you lose it”.

“As part of staying active my father was part of a local keep fit club and was swimming regularly into his 90s.

“But most importantly he is a wonderful person – the best father I could ask for.

“I have a great deal of love and respect for him. He has never been a selfish or greedy man, he is very understanding and he worked his hardest for the family.”

Originally from Quarry Bank, Mr Taylor was born on May 4, 1910. His younger brother Peter died a few months ago when approaching his 90s.

Mr Taylor had many jobs until he retired at 73, but was predominantly a tool maker who worked on the Blue Streak Rocket car.

Together with his late wife Mary, who died 22 years ago at the age of 86, the couple had two sons Robert and Roger.

Jean Shipley, a neighbour of Mr Taylor, said he is loved by all he comes into contact with.

She said: “He is a lovely neighbour – everyone in the street loves him and doesn’t have a bad word to say.

“On Sunday a few of us from the street were invited to a party at his son’s house and there were about 25 people there. He had a large amount of cards and was really grateful.

“He really enjoyed himself and had a big smile on his face all day.

“We had a big party for him when he reached 100 and he was featured in the local Villager Magazine, but he got upset about it because he was not dressed up.

“He takes so much pride in his appearance and I was talking about him to another neighbour this morning who said he'd never seen him without a tie!”