Nottinghamshire top of charts for number of black-and-white television sets

NOTTS still has more black-and-white television sets in use than anywhere else in the East Midlands.

Two hundred people in Nottingham, Mansfield, Newark and Worksop still use a black-and-white set – nearly 46 years after colour television was introduced – according to new figures.

Joe Green, director of Nottingham-based audio and TV repair firm Connect, said he was surprised the sets were still used.

He said: "A long time ago, when colour sets were introduced, people would ask for the crystals that made TVs colour to be removed because they wanted to watch in black and white.

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"To be honest, I'm surprised that many black-and-white TVs are still going – it would cost a lot of money to be able to get digital TV on an old set."

Mark Whitehouse, a spokesman for TV Licensing, which released the figures, said: "It's remarkable that, with the digital switchover complete, 41 per cent of UK households owning HDTVs and Britons leading the world in accessing TV content over the internet, more than 13,000 households still watch their favourite programmes on a black-and-white telly."

With 161 households having black-and-white TV licences, Nottingham is eighth in the UK for cities with monochrome licences. Top is London, with 2,715 black-and-white licences, with Birmingham and Manchester rounding out the top three with 574 and 413 licences.

BBC television and radio technology historian John Trenouth said: "The continued use of black-and-white TV sets, despite the obstacles, is more likely to be driven by economics than by nostalgia.

"For low-income households, the black-and-white licence fee is an attractive alternative to the full colour fee. There will always be a small number of users who prefer monochrome images, don't want to throw away a working piece of technology or collect old TV sets."

A licence for a black-and-white set costs £49, against £145.50 for colour

Do you still use a black-and-white TV? Call us on 0115 948 2000 or e-mail newsdesk@nottinghampostgroup.co.uk.