Veteran punk ex lollipop lady rocks on at 88

BRITAIN’S oldest punk rocker is still wowing crowds at the age of 88 after turning her back on life as a lollipop lady.

Viva Hamnell was a middle-aged mum when punk first burst onto the music scene in the 1970s.

She fell in love with the anarchic sound made popular by the Sex Pistols and quit her lollipop duties to form her own band.

And the great-grandma is still performing onstage four decades later as she nears her 90th birthday.

She proudly claims to be the undisputed “Oldest Lady of Punk” and has fans across the globe.

Viva, of Callington, Cornwall, formed her first band, The Bricks, with son Simon, aged 45 in 1976.

She said: “Because I was so much older – and a mum and lollipop lady – we got a lot of publicity, particularly because I’d dress as a boy scout. The truth is I had no talent at all – I couldn’t sing, but it didn’t seem to matter back then.”

Viva was also a site manager at the Glastonbury festival for 30 years, retiring when she was 80.