A 102-year-old woman who has smoked all her life has cut to just one a day – because of the credit crunch.

Winnie Langley, from Croydon, said she could no longer afford to have more than a single cigarette a day following recent price rises.

Mrs Langley, who celebrated her 100th birthday by having a puff, said: “The price keeps going up, so I’ve cut down to one a day. That’s all.”

The former laundrette worker said she was also concerned about her health.

She said: “I am not that well. My eyesight is very bad and I have to get someone else to buy them.”

Mrs Langley lit her first cigarette at the outbreak of WWI in 1914.

Since then she has smoked five a day, meaning she has smoked more than 170,000 cigarettes so far – although she doesn’t inhale.

Mrs Langley has outlived her husband Robert, who died in 1968, and her son, who died four years ago aged 72.

• What do you think? Let us know by email here, phone the newsdesk on 020 8330 9555 or leave a comment below.