Aled Jones may be long in the tooth these days by choirboy standards - but he's got a lot of catching up to do to match Louis Flower.

The 89-year-old has been a chorister at St John's Church in Clayton since the end of the First World War.

He started singing as a nine-year-old on Advent Sunday in 1918 - and he's never looked back since.

"I never imagined all those years ago that I would still be in the choir at my age," he said.

"I only ended up joining the choir in the first place because of my headmaster. You didn't argue in those days."

Mr Flower, of Clayton Lane, Clayton, still loves singing and has no plans to give up unless his voice fails him.

"What's the good of being in a choir if you can't sing?" he said,

"The point is I'm still here and I'm still able to sing. My voice hasn't gone reedy as it does with age in some people and I'm very fortunate.

His wife Margaret made him promise just before she died two years ago that he would carry on singing in the choir, which has half a dozen youngsters and 16 adults.

Now he will have the chance to meet other former choristers when the choir holds a special Advent Sunday service at the weekend to mark his eight decades with the choir.

Mr Flower, who is also the church's verger, worked for most of his life in textiles before switching to other jobs in the shipping trade and in a building society before he retired.

He has rarely missed a service and has also regularly read lessons and been head chorister at the church. But he has never had any ambition to become choirmaster or organist.

"I'm just a singer," he said. "When I stop singing, that'll be when I'm ready for my wooden suit."

Choirmaster and organist Godfrey Turner, a sprightly 60, said: "He really is remarkable and still in fine voice. I can remember him being a stalwart of the choir years ago when I was a youngster and he is still going strong."

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