A 95-year-old British veteran of the Second World War broke his own record on Saturday as the world's oldest scuba diver after taking the plunge to explore a shipwreck off Cyprus.

Ray Woolley, who turned 95 on August 28, already holds the record as the oldest active male scuba diver.

On Saturday he dived for 44 minutes at a depth of 40.6 metres, beating his previous record of 41 minutes and 38.1 metres - when he was 94.

"We did it...I feel great. It's lovely to break my record again and I hope if I can keep fit I will break it again next year with all of you," Mr Woolley said moments after emerging from the water.

Mr Woolley and dozens of other divers scoured the watery depths around the shipwreck of the Zenobia, a cargo vessel laden with trucks that sank about 2 km off the southern Cypriot town of Larnaca in 1980 on its maiden voyage.