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A man whose 17-year-old Nokia phone has been through three tours of army service, a cycle in the wash and smothered in curry sauce claims it’s still as good as new.

Dave Mitchell, 49, last bought a mobile phone in 2000 when he picked up the popular Nokia 3310.

And it hasn’t left his side since, as the former Army man revealed he has been using the trusty handset for nearly two decades.

The phone has even been through tours of Afghanistan, Iraq and Germany - and Mr Mitchell boasts it still gives at least four bars of signal to this day.

"For me a phone is for making and receiving calls and texts," a defiant Mr Mitchell said. "For a long time the phone lay gathering dust in my drawer.

(Image: Hull Daily Mail)

"But my daughter has just gone to college so I was under pressure from her and other family members to have a mobile handy so we could keep in touch in case of emergencies.

“It is really for piece of mind.

"I was given a newer phone with internet access by my son a few years ago but I just didn't want it.

"My needs are very basic. The phone has a calculator and games like Snake 2 if I'm bored."

Mr Mitchel, who works for WP Everingham memorial masons in Hedon, admits he gets a lot of flack for refusing to keep up with the times but he often has the last laugh.

"A lot of people laugh at me but when push comes to shove their phones break much more easily," he said. "I try not to look too smug when I see someone with a cracked screen

"My phone has been with me during ten years of service in the army. I have been to Iraq, Afghanistan, Jordan and Germany.

The phone has been thrown, stood on, dropped, gone through the washing machine and dipped in curry sauce.

(Image: Hull Daily Mail)

"Whenever something happens I just have to click it back together again. It seems to be made of kryptonite."

Mr Mitchell's only gripe with his phone is that he has to pay for 500 gigabytes of data he does not use.

He said: "I only have to top up my phone with a tenner once a month but it is frustrating I have to pay for data I cannot use.

"I only have to charge the battery every couple of weeks and I have the original one still. I don't need a camera on my phone. I'll take a camera with me if I want to take photos and I don't do selfies.

"I'm not a dinosaur and I know how new technology works but I don't want to be looking at my phone every minute.

"If I want to go on the internet I am happy to wait until I get home or at work and sit at a computer. I think there is a real sense of freedom in doing that."

Mr Mitchell's comments come as it has been revealed Hull and its surrounding villages are still plagued by poor mobile phone signals.

The latest heatmap shows clusters of city streets, suburbs and rural communities with poor signal, with some even struggling with the most basic connections.

"I very rarely get less than 4 bars wherever I am," Mr Mitchell proudly points out.