At 104, Ivy Bean may be the oldest person in Bradford. She is also, thanks to the internet, one of its most famous residents. After maxing out the friend capacity on Facebook (with 5,000), Ivy graduated to Twitter in 2008, and from her residential home on the outskirts of the city she now offers daily insights into her life for some 54,000 followers.

Ivy got into social networking when the home computer maintenance company Geek Squad helped her sign up last year, but what started as a publicity stunt has taken on a life of its own. Before that, Ivy says, "All I used to do was sit all day and fall asleep. I'd be miserable if I didn't do it."

These days Ivy is a celebrity. Last month she had a private meeting with Peter Andre (whom she is pictured with above). He was in town for a book signing. "He's a lovely fellow," Ivy says. Also, Chris Evans has blown her a kiss on Twitter.

Ivy's windowsill is crowded with family photos, and she has a drawer full of letters and gifts from well-wishers worldwide. "Last week I had one off someone on her holidays in America, and another from Zimbabwe."

She says she never feels lonely now with the Twitter community to chat to, whether she is explaining what parkin is, or discussing the merits of Deal or No Deal. When her good friend Norma Furniss passed away earlier this year, Ivy was inundated with messages of support; if she doesn't get the chance to tweet on any given day, her followers are anxious to know that she is OK.

Ivy's Twitter name is @IvyBean104.

Story by Sarah Phillips, via The Guardian.