THE number of people watching black and white television in Wirral has dropped, with just 10 homes owning TV licences.

Figures released by TV Licensing reveal black and white licenses have dropped to below 10 in the borough, with fewer than 12,000 sets now in use nation-wide.

Despite it being nearly 48 years since colour transmissions began, digital switchover and the recent Christmas seasonal surge of television, laptop, tablet and smartphone sales, it seems there are still some nostalgic UK homes firmly attached to their trusty black and white TV sets.

Despite dripping a further 12% in the last year, there Are still 11,550 black and white licenses in force across the UK.

Iain Logie Baird, associate curator at the National Media Museum, and grandson of television inventor John Logie Baird, said: “Despite more than 25m people opting for a colour TV licence in the UK, it may be some time before the black and white television disappears completely from our living rooms.

“The National Media Museum has hundreds of black and white television sets in its collection and there will always be a small group of people who prefer monochrome images, collect vintage sets or just don’t want to throw away a working piece of technology.”

The cost of a black and white TV licence remains frozen at £49, while a colour licence costs £145.50.