Couple celebrate 100th grandchild

Filip and Randi Bekkevold have 18 children (photo: Kent Inge Olsen)

A Norwegian couple have been celebrating the birth of their 100th grandchild this week.

Randi and Filip Bekkevold of Saltnes, 40 miles (70 km) south of Oslo, celebrated the milestone with granddaughter Mathilde Sofie's arrival.

The couple have 18 children and their 100 grandchildren have produced 18 great-grandchildren, according to the Norwegian NRK website.

The couple say it is the size of their family that keeps them young.

All but three of the 100 grandchildren live nearby and the Bekkevolds say they know them all well and "are well in control of who's who".

The couple say they no longer give individual birthday and Christmas presents. Instead, they give each family a shared present once the youngest member reaches 15 years old.

NRK says the Bekkevolds hold a family party each summer, when they have to hire a sports ground. Family activities include football, trampolining, tug-of-war and a barbecue.

Filip, 77, and Randi, 71, are members of an international Christian fellowship founded in the early 19th Century in Norway, where it is known as "Smith's Friends".

Large families are said to be important to members.