TELEVISION may have been available in colour for more than 45 years, but figures released by TV Licensing reveal 33 black and white TV licences are still in force in Swindon.

Despite the switch to digital television last year, and an increase in the sale of flat screen televisions, tablets, laptops and smart phones over the Christmas period, some homes in the UK cannot bear to part with their black and white televisions.

In 2000 there were 212,000 black and white licences issued, but by 2003 that had shrunk to 93,000 and in 2006 the number was fewer than 50,000.

At the start of 2013, just 13,202 black and white licenses were in force across the UK.

Warren Carr, a spokesman for TV Licensing, 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 watch a black and white telly.”