'If I couldn't drive, I'd have a motorbike': 103-year-old woman who refuses to retire from behind the wheel says yellow Mini is the second love of her life... after cricket
- Eileen Ash, from Norfolk, is still driving her yellow Mini at the age of 103
- Is seen driving herself to yoga, the driving range and bowls on ITV show
- Active centenarian used to play cricket for England and is still passionate
She may be 103 years old but Eileen Ash says she isn't planning on slowing down, so she'll keep on driving her 'speedy' Mini until she dies.
The centenarian from Norfolk said her car is the 'second love of her life' (after cricket) and she regularly gets behind the wheel to drive to yoga classes, the driving range and to play bowls and bridge.
'I love driving, being free and being on four wheels going where I want to go,' she said on ITV documentary 100-year-old Drivers Ride Again.
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Eileen Ash said her yellow Mini is the second love of her life and is has no intention to stop driving
She said she has no intention of stopping driving - even if people may think it's too dangerous at her age.
'If I couldn't drive I would have a motorbike and that wouldn't be very safe,' she retorts.
Eileen has always driven Minis and she loves the feel and appearance of the quirky vehicles.
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'I have owned four Minis. I like a small car and it's quite speedy, the acceleration is good. It does stand out from the crowd.
'People often say to me "you're the lady who drives yellow Mini". They say "it's beautiful little car" and that makes me happy for the rest of the day.'
Aside from her car, Eileen's other life-long passion is cricket.
The 103-year-old has no intentions of giving up driving and she drives herself to yoga classes every week
'When I was five years old my uncle gave me cricket set and I insisted on taking them to bed,' she said of how she was introduced to the sport.
She went on to play for England, making her debut for the ladies team at The Oval in London in 1937.
She played for her country until 1949 and said her proudest moment was scoring a century.
Eileen pictured playing cricket in 1936, she went on to play for England making her debut The Oval in 1937
Eileen said cricket is the first love of her life, followed by her Mini
Now she's more than a century old herself, she still loves being active and believes her sporty background is the reason why she's still so healthy.
'For my age I am pretty lucky, I haven't many aches and pains although my knees are starting to creak a bit but you put up with those sort of things,' she said.
Eileen isn't the only centenarian still on Britain's roads. The ITV show also features Bert Gallagher from Yorkshire, who is still behind the wheel at 100 - much to the concern of his daughter, Sylvia, 72.
She said: 'Now I have had one or two occasions where I have been his passenger and it made me sort of think, "Ooh". I just worry that he will cause an accident and he could be killed.'
Eileen credits her sporty background for keeping her in good health
Determined not to give up his independence or his car keys without a fight, Bert has booked himself a driving assessment, which is filmed on the show.
He said: 'I'm going to prove to Sylvia that I'm still fit to drive. I've had a tremendous amount of driving experience which will be of great value in helping me pass this assessment. And I expect to pass it with flying colours. I'd be disappointed if I don't.'
100 Year Old Drivers Ride Again is on ITV Wednesday at 8pm
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