Newport pharmacist Betty Pritchard retires aged 91 after 59 years

Betty Pritchard has finally decided to retire from her job at a community pharmacy after 59 years – and at the age of 91.

She started at Watkin-Davies in Bettws, Newport, in 1965 but had spent the previous 13 years working at another pharmacy.

Mrs Pritchard, from Bassaleg, Newport, regularly took two buses to work and back each day but has now decided to call it a day.

“I’m so lucky to have had this job,” she said.

Mrs Pritchard previously told BBC News she decided to work long after many peers had put their feet up because she had “seen so many people retire and fall apart”.

She also recalled how pharmacies had changed during her career.

“When I first started work, you could buy poppy heads – opium,” she said.

“It was make-your-own medicine. Then everything became pre-packed.”

Colleagues and residents threw Mrs Pritchard a retirement party with cake, flowers and champagne to say farewell.

“It’s just a lovely place to work,” she said. “I’ve made so many friends.”

Aneurin Bevan University Health Board described Mrs Pritchard as the “heart and soul of the community pharmacy, dedicating herself to helping others since joining in the early 1960s”.