The work of a pioneering pensioner honoured by The Queen for her services to blind people has been celebrated at a special day.

Elizabeth Jones, who turns 86 on Sunday, has dedicated the past six years of her life to Talking News Islington (TNI) – a spoken word publication for those with little or no sight.

Mrs Jones, who lives in Holloway, has received awards for her efforts and was made a BEM in the New Year’s Honours List for her services to people with visual impairments – an achievement commemorated by Cllr Barry Edwards, Mayor of Islington, and at TNI’s annual meeting.

The Yewbury Road resident said: “I was honoured and it made me feel very humble.

“Because I am blind I rely on the volunteers to do all the sighted work.

“I couldn’t do anything without them so it is a real team effort, even though it’s me who gets the medal.

“There were congratulations from here, there and everywhere, including the chief executive of our parent company the Talking Newspaper Federation.

“They were really pleased we were the first paper to go digital. But it was all an accident, we just had a volunteer who didn’t know how to record to tape.”

Mrs Jones will now go to two special events – a ceremony at the Tower of London and another at Buckingham Palace.

She said: “With my name being Elizabeth I might not make it out of the tower – they might put me on the block.”