Man ‘never changed a lightbulb’ on Christmas lights used for 69 years

By Adam Dutton

A pensioner still uses the same Christmas fairy lights he had 69 years ago - and has never needed to change a bulb.

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

The hardy lights, made by the 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 10-years-old when we got them, they were for the family tree initially.

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“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 not to 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."