KINGSCLERE’S oldest resident says that closing the village’s library will be taking away one of her “lifelines”.

Maisie Phenix, who is 101-years-old, has lived in Kingsclere, just two houses from the library, for 75 years.

She says that her favourite pastime is reading, and she always has a pile of books by the side of her bed for when she can’t sleep.

“I couldn’t be without a book to read,” she told the Gazette. “I can’t even get to a shop to buy one.

“I have got a lot of favourites. I like Bill Bryson.

“I like a cheerful book, who wants to read about crime and war? I was born at the end of the first world war, and I lived through the second!”

For Maisie, visiting the library and the people who work there is important to her.

“The library is one of my lifelines, it is one of the only places I can manage to get to. I really would be sad to lose it.

“It means a lot to me to be able to go to the library and have a chat with people.

“I am meeting new friends now. All the older friends I have lost.

“I don’t see why country people have to go without a library but if you live in a town you can have one.”