Thousands of Brits get TV Licences £102.50 cheaper using the same retro trick

Almost exactly 50 years ago colour TV came to BBC 1 - but despite being old enough to join Saga, thousands of Brits still aren't using it.

And they don't even have the excuse that they don't own - or watch - television, with the latests figures from TV Licensing showing there are 6,586 homes in Britain with black and white licences.

TV Licensing spokesman Paul Cooper said: “Whilst only accounting for a very small proportion it’s interesting to know that some households still like to watch their favourite shows on a black and white telly.”

But while it might only be a small number, there is a big saving on offer for people prepared to watch all their live TV in monochrome.

While a standard TV Licence costs £154.50, it's just £52 for a black and white one.

Not all licences are equal (PA)

London has the highest number of monochrome homes - with 1,311 black and white licences in the capital, followed by Birmingham with 323 and Manchester with 245.

But in a few years there might be no one left at all.

The number of black and white licences is 97% down on the year 2000 with 575 disappearing in the past year alone.

And people with black and while licences are missing out on more than just reds and yellows and greens and blues.

That's because you monochrome licences don't let you download BBC programmes on iPlayer or to record any live TV.

You don't just lose colours, you lose iPlayer too (PA)

“When BBC One launched its colour TV service in November 1969, there were only three channels available," Cooper said.

"Fast forward to 2019, and more than half of TV households have in some way an internet connection to their TV and access to hundreds of channels."

For people looking to go retro, the good news is a working black-and-white TV can be picked up for less than £50 from auction sites like eBay - just make sure you have a set-top box or equivalent if you want to watch it as the old analogue broadcasts were switched off in 2012.

Where people are using black and white licences most

• London - 1311 licences
• Birmingham - 323 licences
• Manchester - 245 licences
• Glasgow - 136 licences
• Leeds - 121 licences
• Liverpool - 108 licences
• Belfast (NI) - 79 licences
• Nottingham - 78 licences
• Omagh (NI) - 71 licences
• Sheffield - 71 licences
• Bristol - 64 licences
• Bradford - 56 licences
• Leicester - 55 licences
• Coventry - 48 licences
• Luton - 48 licences
• Dungannon (NI) - 47 licences
• Edinburgh - 41 licences
• Newry (NI) - 39 licences
• Cardiff - 37 licences
• Huddersfield - 37 licences