Brummies who have breached the 50 age barrier and see retirement looming on the horizon are increasingly wheeling and dealing on the internet in order to boost their finances.

More than half (59 per cent) of the new breed of silver surfers, dubbed Old Age Entrepreneurs, regularly buy and sell stocks and shares online in readiness to supplement their pensions.

More than 40 per cent trade items on eBay, one in ten take part in online market research groups to earn extra cash and three per cent even run their own online business, accord-ing to a survey by cable company Telewest.

Television presenter Gloria Hunniford is fronting a campaign to get more people aged over 50 to discover the benefits of going online.

She said: "Getting to grips with the web is easier than you might think and there are lots of ways it can help you become more financially savvy."

A standard weekly pension is currently £84 for a single person and £134 for a married couple.

According to the research, 90 per cent regularly log on to the web to find new ways of improving their retirement funds.

Those running their own businesses are involved in ventures such as making sweets to sell on eBay and teaching foreign languages online.