Heckmondwike gran becomes social media sensationwith 'Elf on the Shelf' snaps

Vera Stanley, of Heckmondwike, has family and friends in stitches with her daily antics.

Vera’s daughter Jill Brodie knew her mum was always up for a laugh and devised 20 different poses, posting a new picture or video animation every day in the run-up to Christmas.

In one picture Vera is pictured cross-eyed sucking raspberry gin through a straw at the Elf Re-Fuelling Station.

Naughty elf Vera must have had one over the eight because the following day’s snap showed her crouched head first over the loo!

In another brilliant snap Vera - resplendent in a red and green velvet hat with attached pointy ears, red jumper, grey shorts and stripy knee-length socks - is tucking into two giant bars of Dairy Milk with melted chocolate all round her mouth - and on her nose!

Mum-of-five Vera said: “I think it’s great. I have waited 91 years for this. We are having a bit of fun and that’s what it’s all about.

“It’s been a terrible year but I’m giving people something to smile about.”

Widow Vera still lives independently in sheltered accommodation.

She has a big family with 12 grandchildren, 25 great-grandchildren and seven great-great grandchildren.

“I have an iPad and I keep in touch with my family on FaceTime and Facebook,” she said. “The iPad is a lifeline for me.”

Vera’s husband Donald died a couple of years ago from Alzheimer’s. They were childhood sweethearts who met at school.

“If he was still here we’d have been together 76 years,” said Vera. “I used to pass love notes to him in school. I was a year older than him. I got a toy boy - but I picked the best!”

Vera is ready for the Covid-19 vaccine and remembers when the Polio virus was prevalent in Britain until routine vaccination was introduced in the 1950s.

“I lost my son at six months old to Polio but, like now, you just have to get through it,” she said.

“With Polio we just went about our business, it didn’t stop us. With Covid they have frightened elderly people.

“Don’t get me wrong, it’s a terrible disease and I feel for people who have lost loved ones but we can’t stay locked away forever. We have to live our lives.”

Jill, 51, came up with the idea because staff at the sheltered housing complex hold an annual Elf Day coffee morning to raise money for charity.

“When I saw mum dressed up I joked that she looked like Elf on the Shelf but she had no idea what I was talking about.

“I came up with a list of things this naughty elf could do and we spent a full day taking pictures. By the end of it all mum needed a lie down - and so did I.”

It’s only three years since Vera and Jill raised £1,000 for Alzheimer’s research when they completed a Memory Walk across the Humber Bridge and back.

“Don’t compare me to Capt Tom,” said Vera. “We only raised £1,000, not £32 million!”