Life is still black and white for some Bedfordians who, 40 years after the first colour television transmissions, still like to watch their favourite shows in monochrome.

New figures unveiled by TV Licensing show 90 Bedfordians are among 28,000 Britons who still only own a black and white television.

Colour television took off when BBC1 and ITV first aired colour shows on November 15, 1969 and despite several new ways to watch programmes, with the invention of digital television and internet broadcasts, the new figures show some people are not ready to dump their old black and white sets.

One incentive to keep older sets is that a black and white licence fee is only £48, almost £100 less than the colour equivalent, which costs £142.50.

Luton has one of the biggest black and white television loving populations in the area with 134 homes still without a colour set, in comparison to 98 in Northampton and 76 in Milton Keynes.

While the figures show there is still life in Beds' old television equipment, new BBC statistics show many are changing the way they watch television, with Bedfordians contributing to the million users watching BBC iPlayer every day in September.

Sales of high definition flat screen televisions have also trebled in the last three years, with more than 9.6 million flatscreens sold in the past year compared with less than 3.5 million in 2005-2006.

Ian Fannon, from TV Licensing, said: "These figures show TV has never been more popular across the spectrum, and with so many ways to watch TV now available it's important people are aware of their legal responsibilities.

"Whether you watch in black and white on a 40-year-old TV set or in colour on a brand new 37ins LCD flatscreen, you need to be covered by a TV Licence."

TV Licensing enforcement officers were out in force in Bedford last week and have now caught more than 740 licence fee dodgers in Bedford since the start of the year.
For more information on when you need a licence visit www.tvlicensing.co.uk

Do you still have a black and white television in your home?
Why is your old set better than flatscreens?
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