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A centenarian says she has been inundated with Facebook Friend requests since reports of her becoming the oldest user of the social network site.

Lillian Lowe, 103, from Tenby, Pembrokeshire, has only a few dozen friends, mostly family, registered.

But since being dubbed Facebook's oldest user, she has had 999 friendship requests from around the world.

She said: "They have been very kind and uplifting messages. I can't reply to them all."

Ms Lowe is thought to have become the oldest person among Facebook's 500m users following the death of 104-year-old Ivy Bean, from Bradford, in July.

The retired hotelier and businesswoman says she uses the site about twice a week to keep up to date with family, including two at university in Cardiff.

She said: "I like it very much, to see my grandchildren and speak to them, but it does waste a lot of time.

"I have a lot of time sitting alone, when you are my age, I don't go running around, and it is lovely to use.

"I have a number of friends - all my family, grandchildren, great grandchildren. I check up on my family. They send me messages [about] what they're doing, and to which parties they go.

"I use it just for amusement really. I'm only a beginner. I do enjoy it, very much."

She said that someone her age would need "an active brain" to use the social network site.

The friends requests began pouring in when her activity on Facebook won widespread publicity.

She said she has heard of Twitter but does not know what it is.

She said: "We've had messages from all over the world. I'd like to say thank you very much".