Identical twins who were nearly split up after being born into poverty in London's East End have revealed the shared passion that keeps them inseparable.

Sisters Lilian 'Lily' Franks and Trudy Marshall recently marked their 98th birthday the only way they know how, together.

For the best part of the last century the duo who still live just miles from each other in Gravesend have shared "mirrored" identical lives – marrying, divorcing and even having children – all within a similar time frame.

Both share similar passions for "retail therapy", gardening and ballroom dancing and possess a knack for producing, unprompted the same cards at key celebrations.

But Lily and Trudy's lives could have turned out very differently had it not been for the intervention of the local community during their early years.

The sisters were born on August 8, 1924 in impoverished conditions in Canning Town, east London.

However, their parents Gertrude and Charlie Bruder had only planned for one child and when the two arrived they faced the tough choice of potentially having to split the pair up to survive financially.

Lily's son Steve Franks said: "Originally when they were born in 1924, their parents only planned for one child.

"Times were hard in those days so when two came along the local community rallied round to supply extra clothes, etc as money was so tight."

The sisters enjoyed a "lively, family-orientated life" in Canning Town where many aunts and uncles lived but moved out to Plumstead, south London when they were five or six, explains Steve.

After leaving school at the age of 14, when the Second World War broke out, both worked in offices at the Woolwich Arsenal where munitions workers carried out weapons manufacturing and proofing for the armed forces.

The pair volunteered as first aiders and were given the task of running to Woolwich Power Station with their dad’s lunch and a bottle of beer.

"Their lives have mirrored each other which is common for identical twins."

When the war ended they both enrolled in the Civil Service and continued to enjoy shared hobbies and interests.

Steve added: "Their lives have mirrored each other which is common for identical twins.

"They both married after the war but unfortunately both divorced some eight to nine years later, both having a son in that time, Lily with Stuart and Trudy with Keith.

"They both remarried and Lily had one more son."

Between them they have five grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

Both sisters now live with dementia with Trudy based at Old Downs Care home, Hartley and Lily in Meopham with her carers.

In their earlier years, the pair would enjoy ballroom dancing at family parties with their younger brothers, Roy and Colin, and would demonstrate their latest dance steps with their husbands, Fred and Frank.

They also had a love for knitting and needlework with many members of the family receiving new scarves and cardigans for birthday and Christmas presents.

Accompanying these presents would be an identical card as they had a knack for buying the same one.

But the shared interest that has kept them inseparable all these years has been their penchant for "competitive" retail therapy.

In particular who could buy the best bathroom suite with the other one changing her new one for another one just three months after.

The family put on a special bash to mark the sisters' 98th birthday earlier this month.

The oldest identical twins in the UK are believed to be Kathleen Whitehead and Dorothy Sivyer who both grew up in Rochester. They were born in 1920.

Japanese sisters Umeno Sumiyama and Koume Kodama have been confirmed as the oldest living identical twins and the oldest identical twins ever at 107 years, as of September 1, 2021.