A PROMOTION by a Worcester company to raise awareness of the product it pioneered 30 years ago has proved a sizzling success.

Worcester Bosch, which employs 750 people at its UK head office, in Cotswold Way, Warndon, offered three Worcester home owners the chance to win a high-efficiency combi boiler to heat their homes.

The firm pioneered the combi boiler in Britain 30 years ago, when founder Cecil Duckworth realised it was the future of domestic heating.

The promotion, run in conjunction with the Evening News, formed part of the firm's 40th anniversary celebrations and offered readers a central heating "makeover".

The combi boiler is different to conventional boilers, because it does not use a pre-heated cylinder of hot water.

Instead, water enters the combi directly from the mains and is then heated as it is transferred through the heat exchanger.

Because combis heat water only when the hot tap is turned on, they are very efficient.

They also supply hot water at mains pressure, meaning owners can have an "exhilarating" shower with no need for a pump or power shower.

It was the move by consumers away from baths and towards showers that drove the development.

"Lifestyle changes have been a key factor in selecting combi boilers over traditional as today's consumer prefers showering to bathing," said a spokeswoman for Worcester Bosch.

"On average a shower uses considerably less water than a typical bath so the savings on hot water costs and water consumption can be significant, particularly over a long period."

Since running the promotion, in April, the winners have said the combi boilers have changed their lives.

Jean and George Purvis had a Bosch 28Si 11 combi boiler installed in their 1966 three-bedroom terrace home in Kempsey, near Worcester.

Mrs Purvis agreed one of the main benefits was the showering capacity.

"I didn't use our original electric shower during the winter because the hot water wasn't warm enough, so I preferred bathing instead," she said.

"I have now been converted to showering because of the heat and power generated by the shower due to the new combi boiler."

The other winners were Jo Heasman, who had a Bosch 35CDi 11 combi boiler installed in her home, in Lower Broadheath, near Worcester, and Ceri and Jeff Elward, who won a Bosch Greenstar HE combi for their detached three-bedroom home in St Peter's, Worcester.