A FAMILY’S washing machine has impressed even its manufacturers after they discovered it has been going strong for 35 years without once breaking down.

Barry Hallam, 70, and his wife Gillian bought their washing machine in northern Germany, when the family moved there in 1978.

When they returned to Britain three years later, they decided to bring it with them.

Since then it has completed 7,500 washes and used 640kg of washing powder at the couple’s home in Stokesley, despite being run up to five times a day when their children, Andrew and Katie, were young.

The reliable machine served four other families for seven years from 1993 while Barry's job took him and his wife to Taiwan and Karachi, Pakistan.

The couple are now living back at home with their beloved Miele washer since Barry retired as a company director.

He said: "Even though our tenants used it for so many years it never failed them either - and two of the families had children too.

"I've had to replace the hoses on it over the years but it's never broken on me.

"Otherwise, it's been maintenance-free for 35 years and I've never needed it serviced. In fact, it's never ruined any of my clothes."

Marketing director for Miele, Dominic Worsley, said: "We don't know of any other appliances this old and still being used on a daily basis, but we're hopeful it won't be having a midlife crisis any time soon."