A WEC Firefly HD boiler, believed to be one of the oldest domestic boilers still operating in the UK, has been discovered by a homeowner in Oswestry, Shropshire.
Marton Hayes contacted Worcester, Bosch Group when he realised that the boiler had been heating his three-bedroom detached home since it was built in 1973.

Despite its age, the Firefly is still in good working order, although with an output of 60K BTU (17.5kWh) it falls short of the much improved outputs of the latest generation of boilers.

Mr Hayes said: 'I think this is a fantastic achievement as the boiler is still performing excellently after 39 years of service. I moved into the property with my wife and four children back in 1986 and, having continued to service the boiler annually, we have experienced no problems other than the odd replacement spare part.'

'Although the boiler is in full working order I am planning to replace it with a Greenstar CDi gas-fired combi boiler. I have chosen a Worcester gas-fired combi boiler as the replacement, due to the excellent service and reliability given by the Firefly, which has certainly stood the test of time.'

Director of marketing and technical support at Worcester, Bosch Group, Martyn Bridges, commented: 'We were pleased to hear that Mr Hayes' Firefly boiler has given him and his family such good service and are sure the replacement will prove to be just as reliable.'