Britain's second oldest person has marked her 113th birthday this week in true English style - with a piece of cake and a cup of tea.

Monday was an extra special occasion for Ethel Lang who celebrated another year as a supercentenarian surrounded by her family and friends.

Denise Bates, Ethel's granddaughter-in-law, said the 113-year-old is not only the second oldest person in the country but also one of the last three living subjects of Queen Victoria.

She said: "Ethel celebrated her special birthday quietly, receiving a birthday card from the Queen, and was visited by her family and friends who she enjoyed a piece of cake and a nice cup of tea with."

Ethel, who was born in 1900 in Worsbrough Dale and has seen six monarchs and 22 Prime Ministers come and go, said she enjoyed spending the special day with her family.

She is the youngest daughter of miner Charles Lancaster and his wife Sarah, and was born when Queen Victoria was still on the throne and the Marquess of Salisbury was Prime Minister.

Ethel has lived in Barnsley all her life. She left school at 13 to go and work at Sugden's shirt factory and Denise said her grandmother-in-law was 'an excellent seamstress'.

In 1922 she married William Lang, a young plumber and the only son of Barnsley councillor Thomas Lang, at St Mary's Church, Barnsley.

One year later the couple celebrated the birth of their daughter, Margaret, who is now 89.

Widow Ethel lived independently until she was 105 when she moved into a Barnsley care home. Her main hobby was dancing, which she enjoyed up to turning 107.