Jamaican 117-year-old woman is set to be crowned world's oldest human

A 117-year-old Jamaican woman is believed to have just become the world's oldest living person.

Violet Brown, who spent much of her life cutting sugarcane in the fields around her home in western Jamaica, celebrated her birthday last month.

She is now thought to be the world's oldest after Emma Morano - born in November 1899 - died on Saturday.

Ms Brown, born in March 1900, believes her longevity is down to working hard and regular church-attendance.

She said: "This is what God has given me, so I have to take it - a long life.

"I've done nearly everything at the church. I spent all my time in the church. I like to sing. I spent all my time in the church from a child to right up (to today)."

Brown is considered to be the oldest person in the world with credible birth documentation, according to Robert Young, director of the Gerontology Research Group, a network of volunteer researchers into the world's oldest people.

Ms Brown has not yet been declared the world's oldest by Guinness World Records, but Guinness depends heavily on Mr Young's group.

Mr Young said he has met Ms Brown and examined her birth certificate, which was issued by the British authorities who governed Jamaica at the time of her birth.

He added: "She's the oldest person that we have sufficient documentation for at this time."

Jamaica's prime minister congratulated Ms Brown on Twitter.

Guinness said it was researching a number of candidates for the new world's oldest person title.

"It can be a uniquely complex and sometimes lengthy process," Guinness spokeswoman Elizabeth Montoya said. "There is no confirmation of a new title holder until our thorough processes are complete."

Ms Brown has two caregivers and spends most of the day resting in the home she shares with her 97-year-old son.

She is able to sit up by herself and walk short distances.

And while she is hard of hearing, she offered swift, complete responses to questions about her life and family.

"I was a cane farmer. I would do every work myself," she said. "I worked, me and my husband, over that hill."