Devon couple's 48-year-old boiler finally packs up By Hayley Westcott

BBC News Published duration 12 December 2019

image copyright Rob Braddick image caption Graham Braddick joked he was upset because he thought his boiler came with a 50-year guarantee

An elderly couple are getting rid of the boiler they have had for almost 50 years after it finally stopped working.

Graham Braddick and his wife Dorothy - both 87 - bought the boiler for £200 in 1971 when they moved into their house.

The couple, from Northam in Devon, said they have "never had any problems with it".

"I thought it came with a 50-year guarantee but I cannot find the paperwork," Mr Braddick joked. "That would have been lovely."

image copyright Rob Braddick image caption The boiler was installed in the home of Mr and Mrs Braddick in 1971

The Hotspur oil-fired boiler, made by Harford-Unical Limited, has been serviced by the same man every year since they bought it.

"He used to come regularly but the last time he visited he simply said he could not do it anymore," Mr Braddick said.

"It has been reliable - it hasn't gone wrong before. But now he can't get the bits he needs to fix it because it's so old, you see."

The couple are now in the process of getting another boiler and said they were "not sure where the new one was made".

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image copyright Rob Braddick image caption "The only old appliances left in the house are us," Mr Braddick said

"This one was made in England - that's quite rare now," Mr Braddick said.

"I even remember the man who came here to fit it and he was called Mr Grant. He put it all in for us when we bought the house.

"We had to keep warm with the boiler in those days. I don't know what we would have done without it."

Mr Braddick joked that he and his wife, who celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary in March, were now the "only old appliances left in the house".

Related Topics Elderly people

Northam