Children are outnumbered by the over-60s in Britain for the first time ever, official figures have revealed.

In the latest sign of the UK's ageing population, the Office for National Statistics revealed 13,262,256 people were 60 or over in mid-2007.

That was up from 12,928,071 the previous year, while the number of under-18s fell from 13,119,654 to 13,111,023 over the same time period.

The disclosure came as it emerged that the population of the UK grew by nearly 2 million between 2001 and 2007.

The Office for National Statistics said the number of people in Britain reached 60,975,000 by the middle of last year, up 388,000 on mid-2006.

Mervyn Kohler, special adviser at Help the Aged, said the figures are "cause for celebration" and would have implications for policymakers as older people become increasingly more important.

He said: "The key task for policy makers going forward is to ensure that older people can increasingly play an active role in our ageing society.

"The days of assuming older people are dependants must now come to an end."

Mr Kohler said there needs to be an improved housing supply for the aged, reform of social care and the removal of "arbitrary" ages for retirement.

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