A woman who decided to learn to read at 87 said she was inspired by her love of knitting.

Ursula Shepherd had spent her whole life unable to read or write, not needing the skills in her factory jobs.

She told Julia Hartley-Brewer that when she went to school she sat at the back with someone who could read so she would "watch her turn over the page" and then turn hers at the same time.

But she found inspiration from a most unlikely source.

Shepherd said that, when she was knitting, her inability to read the patterns was a big frustration - and eventually prompted her to make a big change in her life.

Now she can read and write, she told us she wants to get through a love story and write a letter.

Shepherd is also planning a skydive after going on an aeroplane for the first time last year, listen to the interview above to find out more