Still going strong: Retired couple still use their 88-year-old vacuum cleaner that doubles as a paint sprayer, coffee grinder and even a MEAT MINCER

Mary and Ivor Waite got the Piccolo appliance as a wedding gift in 1976

Device was built in 1925 but is still working faultlessly

Piccolo machine was sold as the future of home maintenance



While many Britons will have unwrapped gleaming new household appliances as presents this Christmas, one retired couple would not dream of replacing their 88-year-old vacuum cleaner - which also spray paints, grinds coffee, and even minces meat.

Mary Waite, 61, and her husband Ivor, 63, have been using their Piccolo multi-purpose appliance since it was given to them as a wedding present in 1976.

Remarkably, the plastic-and-metal gadget, which does four household chores in one (although presumably not at the same time), was built in 1925 but is still going strong today and has never broken down.

Handy work: The vacuum appliance, as demonstrated by Mary Waite, 61, right, still works as well as it did when the manual, left, was printed almost a century ago



Handy: This picture taken from the Piccolo instruction manual illustrates just one of the many tasks to which the Piccolo could be put Built to last: The Piccolo machine might be 88-years-old but it is still performing as faultlessly in Mrs Waite's kitchen, left, as it did when it was shown off fresh from the factory in the instruction manual, right

All-in-one: The motor in the Piccolo could drive a range of tools, including metal grinders and wire brushes Hard grind: A man puts his Piccolo to work grinding off the rust from his car roof in this illustration from the instruction manual Bygone: When the Piccolo left the factory in the mid 1920s few people could have imagined it would still be put to use, amongst other things, as a meed mincer, right,



Mary, a retired cleaner, from Halesowen, West Midlands, recently won a competition to find the oldest working appliance in the Black Country.

The prize-winning device, which is showing no sign of its age, used to belong to an salesman uncle who had kept the unused Piccolo in storage for decades before it was eventually given to the couple as a wedding present.



She said: 'My husband’s aunt gave us the Piccolo as a wedding gift.



'It was almost brand new and still in its wrapper so obviously had not been used very much.

Present: An aunt gave Mary and Ivor Waite, pictured on their wedding day in July 1976 held at West Bromwich Registry office, the Piccolo as a gift

Standing the test of time: Mary and Ivor Waite, pictured on their wedding day in July 1976 were given the Piccolo as a gift which is still running as well today as it was when it left the factory 88 years ago



State-of-the-art: The Piccolo instruction manual shows owners how to adapt their new cutting edge piece of household technology into the different appliances

'We were absolutely delighted, it was quite a space-age thing to have in your house at that time and I remember our neighbours popped in just to have a look at it in action.

'It’s a coffee grinder, a mincer, a food processor, a vacuum cleaner, paint sprayer - you name it, it can do it.

'The attachments all plug into one machine. Our son, David, still uses it to vacuum his car and I use the meat mincer and the coffee grinder.

Dependable: Mary Waite, from Halesowen, Birmingham, has been using the Piccolo multi-purpose appliance since it was given to them as a wedding present in 1976 Robust: Mrs Waite shows off her Piccolo and its tool kit which has never broken in almost four decades

Useful: This page from the instruction manual shows just a few of the jobs that the Piccolo can help with 'It has never once broken down and is the most reliable appliance I have ever used. 'I use some of the attachments more than others, like the mincing machine I use the most. 'The mincer is useful when I have cooked a joint of meat and I have some left over. I slice the meat up and dice it and then ram it into the mincer with onions. 'I have also used it as a buffering machine, when I lived in my father’s house I used to get his floor really clean with it by putting a cloth on the end because the vacuum wasn’t very good.

Multifunctional: As well as being able to grind your meat and vacuum your carpets, the Piccolo could also be transformed into a spray gun so you could paint your walls Functional: A housewife shows off the Piccolo's paint spraying adaptor, left, while a husband sets about doing some woodwork with the same machine in these illustrations from the instruction manual

Versatility: The Piccolo had an almost limitless number of uses depending on what adaptor was added to the motor

'We used the coffee grinder a lot in the past but now my husband doesn’t buy that kind of coffee.

'I will never give it up for anything modern. Modern appliances are just not as strong.

'At Christmas it is constantly being used, either to prepare food or clean up afterwards.

'I pity those people who have to make do with modern gadgets, I would be lost without my Picollo.'

All eventualities covered: The owner of the Piccolo made up as a mincer, left, and with a polishing disc, right, had almost any household DIY emergency or job covered with the adaptable machine



Mary showcased the Picollo at Chapmans Electrical shop in nearby in Cradley Heath, when it launched a contest to find the region’s oldest working household gadget.

The managing director Robert Chapman, said: 'It’s surprising what people have still got in good working order but we were stunned when Mary brought in her Piccolo.

'All the Piccolos made were made between 1925 and 1930 by a German company and they were then imported into the country.