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Time really does seem to fly as we get older, according to the findings of psychologists reported yesterday.

The impression that years pass by more quickly with advancing age is often cited as one of life's bitter ironies. Now researchers claim to have evidence that it is a real psychological phenomenon. They suggest it may be partly due to age affecting our judgment of when events happen.

The psychologists recruited 47 volunteers split into three age groups, 18 to 21, 35 to 50, and 60 and over. First all the participants were asked to give the month and year of 20 major public events between 1990 and 1996, such as the Windsor Castle fire.

Then the two older groups were asked to do the same for events such as the space shuttle disaster which happened in the period 1977 to 1989. When remembering events in the 1990's the youngest group thought recent events were more recent than they actually were.

This tendency lessened with increasing age Remembering events much further back, the 35 to 50 group still dated events too recently.

However, the over 60s were now dating events too distantly - they thought events occurred longer ago than they had. Susan Crawley and Dr Linda Pring, from Goldsmith's College, London, presented the findings today at the British Psychological society's London Conference.

In their paper the researchers said the findings "indicate that older people believe more time has passed than is indeed the case".

They added: "This may help to explain why the years appear to fly past as you get older".

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