An Auschwitz survivor is the world’s oldest man, according to Guinness World Records.

Yisrael Kristal was born in 1903, and broke the record at 112 years and 178 days old.

He takes over as the oldest living man after the death of Yasutaro Koide of Japan, who was 112 years and 312 days old.

Mr Kristal, who was born in Poland, the son of a Talmudic scholar, was sent to Auschwitz with his wife Chaja after the liquidation of the Lodz Ghetto in 1944, where their two children died.

Chaja was murdered in the camp, but Mr Kristal survived, weighing under six stones when he was liberated by the Allies in 1945.

He emigrated to Haifa in Israel in 1950 with his second wife and their son, where he ran a confectionery business until his retirement.

According to the Jerusalem Post, he said he did not know the secret for a long life, but believed everything was "determined from above".

Presented with a certificate from Guinness World Records, he said: "There have been smarter, stronger and better looking men then me who are no longer alive.

"All that is left for us to do is to keep on working as hard as we can and rebuild what is lost."

His daughter, Shula Kuperstoch, said he had retained a hopeful view of life despite his experience in the Holocaust.

"He is optimistic, wise, and he values what he has," she said.

The oldest person alive today is believed to be Susannah Mushatt Jones, of the United States, who is 115 years and 249 days.