Man has used same Christmas lights for 69 years without ever changing a bulb

"It looks as if they're going to last forever at the minute."

John King, 79, was bought the set of 12 coloured lights by his mum Elsie in 1956 who hung them on the family's Christmas tree.

The hardy lights, made by electrics company Philips, were purchased at the local Halfords store and cost 18 shillings - equivalent to 90p today.

They were displayed for many years in the family home before John gladly inherited them.

Retired school caretaker John, from Scunthorpe, Lincs., said: “I was just ten-years-old when we got them, they were for the family tree initially.

“I don’t know why they still work, they were a Philips product, which says something about the brands reliability.

“I don’t use them anymore as it’s all LED now, I try to keep them in retirement as much as anything. It surprises me that they still work at all.

“They’ve never once had a bulb change, which is extraordinary. For something so old to not need replacing is amazing.

“There’s 12 in a set - they were bought from Halfords when they used to sell all sorts of things.

“They’re still in the same box and everything, they were around 18 shillings.

"The average wage was £2.10 shillings in those days, so they were quite expensive. Looking back they were expensive, it was a great treat for me.

"It looks as if they're going to last forever at the minute."