FORGET the idea of granny knitting in her rocking chair or baking cakes. Modern day grans are far more likely to be watching Pop Idol with their grandchildren or surfing the Internet.

A 21st Century Gran survey by Yours magazine found that Britain's grans are "fiercely independent and adventurous" and feel more than 20 years younger than their age.

Most enjoy exercise, own a mobile phone and use computers, while many provide vital help to their offspring by looking after grandchildren.

In the North, the figure was 43 per cent, with grandmothers spending an hour to 56 hours a week with their grandchildren.

The survey found that, despite being an average age of 68, grandmothers in this region felt on average as if they were 48.

They were also most likely to have played on a Playstation - 50 per cent compared to the UK average of 45 per cent, while 56 per cent said they watched programmes like Pop Idol with their grandchildren.

Jean Martin, 63, a grandmother of three from Pelton, near Chester-le-Street, County Durham, is typical example.

She looks after four-year-old grandson, Andrew, while his parents are at work and took Bobby, 14, and Chloe, 12, to Alton Towers during the Easter Holidays.

"I do enjoy looking after them because it keeps you young," she said. "I took a computer course at my local library last year so I can help the older ones out on the Internet and I often end up watching MTV with the older ones."

In her spare time, she enjoys cycling and going out with her friends.

On a negative note, in the survey, 68 per cent of grans in the North said they were unhappy about their bodies and 74 per cent said they had been on a diet - the highest figure in the country.