SISTERS who are believed to be Britain's oldest twins celebrated their 98th birthdays yesterday.

Ivy Shermer and Olive Tucker grew up together and now live in nursing homes a few miles apart.

According to the latest edition of Guinness World Records, the world's oldest living twin sisters were born in America in 1907.

Ivy and Olive were born on May 10, 1909. Ivy's son, Ronnie, spent years trying to establish their claim to the UK title.

The 72-year-old, from North Shields, North Tyneside, said: "I contacted Guinness World Records, but they wanted so much information I just could not provide it all.

"I sent them birth certificates and other things. They wanted things like school records, but the one they both went to was knocked down years ago.

"I sent them as much stuff as I could but, when I started this, they were 90 years old and couldn't remember everything."

The twins were born in Hartlepool, but moved to Tyneside when they married.

Ivy is a mother-of-two, a grandmother of four and a great-grandmother of four. She is now blind and lives in a North Shields, nursing home.

Olive, a mother-of-one, grandmother of three and great-grandmother of three, worked for a salt maker from the age of 14 to 30, before becoming a housewife.

She lives in a Durham nursing home near her daughter.

Both have been married twice. Olive celebrated her silver wedding anniversary before her husband, George, died in 2003.