Dog's age yet to be verified by Guinness Book of Records.

Italy is home to the oldest dog in the world, according to the owners of Lilly who celebrated their pet's 24th birthday in a town near Naples on New Year's Day.

The Acanfora family held a party for Lilly at their home in Torre Annunziata, complete with a cake decorated with the number 112, the dog's equivalent age in human years.

Lilly, a small mixed-breed dog, was found abandoned as a puppy at a motorway rest area over New Year in 2000.

Lilly's owners, who say the dog is "one of us", celebrate her birthday each year on 1 January even though it is not known exactly when their pet was born.

The family's claim has yet to be verified by the Guinness Book of Records which currently lists Spike, a Chihuahua cross born in Ohio in November 1999, as the oldest dog in the world.

Photo Sky TG24