Hanover Scotland Housing Association organised a special party yesterday for two of its residents who will celebrate their 18thand 23rd birthdays despite being 72 and 92 years old.

The two resident ‘leaplings’ only get to celebrate their actual birthday once every four years, in a leap year, as they are one of only 0.3 per cent of people in the world to be born on 29 February.

Christine Crome, who celebrated her 18th birthday, moved into the Hanover development at Kelburn Gardens in Paisley as recently as December 2015 whilst Cathy Bowman, celebrating her 23rd birthday, has lived at the Hanover’s Kings Park Mews development in Castlemilk since 1998.

The two women were presented with a special birthday cake from Hanover and will celebrate with families and friends, along with two young people from Glasgow who are 18 and 23 years old will be in attendance to understand the differences and similarities across the generations and to help them celebrate.

Janice McDonald, enhanced housing manager from Hanover Scotland, said: “To have two residents both in the Glasgow area who were born on 29 February is remarkable when you consider how few people share that birthday and we felt it was important to do something special to mark the occasion.

“We also thought it would be interesting for two younger 18 and 23 year olds to join the party! We do a lot of work across the different generations, with older people passing on their skills and younger people learning and sharing their own unique knowledge as well.

“Keeping up the links across the generations is important for making sure our residents feel part of the local community where they live and that they skills and experiences they have are passed down the years.”