Titanic survivor Millvina Dean unveiled a plaque in Southampton yesterday to mark the 90th anniversary of the ship's sinking.

The 90-year-old, who was just nine weeks old when the liner struck an iceberg in the Atlantic, lost her father in the tragedy.

She unveiled the sign in Canute Road outside Canute Chambers which once housed the offices of Titanic's owners the White Star Line shipping company.

It was outside these offices that hundreds of anxious relatives gathered, desperately waiting for news of loved ones who had been aboard the doomed liner.

The unveiling yesterday on the exact anniversary of the tragedy capped a series of events in Southampton to mark the sinking which claimed the lives of more than 1,500 people.

Miss Dean, who lives in Woodlands in the New Forest, turned down a guest appearance on TV's Richard and Judy show to make the event.

"I told them I couldn't come because I wanted to come here," she said.

"I think Titanic has become a myth in a way now and there's some mystique about it partly because it was supposed to be unsinkable.

"I haven't really had time to think about the anniversary because I have been so busy.

"I was much too young then to remember anything about it.

"If I had known my father I probably would have thought more about it."

Councillor Derek Burke, Cabinet member for leisure and tourism, said: "This is the culmination of events in Southampton marking the anniversary of the Titanic sinking and this has rounded off everything in a good way."

The building is now owned by Diamond Property Holdings.

Director Keith Diamond said: "The council approached us fairly recently with the proposals to put up the plaque and we were fully supportive of it."