MORE vintage television owners have been telling their tales as the Worcester News searches for the oldest television in the city.

Following our article about an online competition to find the oldest working set in the UK, the paper has been inundated with calls from readers who think theirs could be in the running.

Radio and television engineer John Banner, of St John's in Worcester, has about 600 sets to his name - but one of these takes pride of place in his collection.

The 64-year-old, of John Banner (Sales and Services) in Malvern, said when he retires he will sell most of his stock, stored in premises around the county, but will never get rid of his nine-inch Bakelite Bush, made in 1950.

"This is from the days when it was BBC One only and I would think it is probably the most collectable that I've got," he said. He said the set would be in full working order, if he had the correct equipment needed to receive the channels.

Peter Holloway, of Ronks-wood, Worcester, has a Bakelite Bush set from 1954.

The 62-year-old said he could probably get a picture if he had the necessary equipment to tune it. "I would part with it to a collector who had an interest in those things," he said. "I have also thought of putting it on ebay, but haven't got round to it." Robert Peart, of Hallow, near Worcester, said he and his wife, 85-year-old Muriel, kept their 1950 nine-inch Sobell long after it stopped working because it was the first set they bought after they married in 1942.

"It was our first set that we had for the Queen's Coronation," said the 87-year-old. BigFatZero.co.uk is a website that enables consumers to purchase electrical goods online. The winner of the competition will walk away with a 50-inch plasma television, so to enter your set, visit http://www.bigfatzero.co.uk