Man claims to own oldest socks in BritainA man has claimed his socks are the oldest socks in regular use in Britain because he has been wearing them every weekend for the last 25 years.

Frank Tunbridge, 55, said only recently has the first hole appeared in the socks he uses whenever he goes out following his hobby as a big cat tracker. Mr Tunbridge, of Podsmead, Gloucester, records sightings of suspected panthers and other big cats around the country, and bought the nylon and wool mix socks 25 years ago from a market stall in Gloucester.

He said he has walked hundreds of miles in them, following big cat trails and looking for clues to the whereabouts of the creatures. He said, "The funny thing is that I bought another pair of the same socks at the time and they didn’t last anywhere near as long as long as this pair. "I don’t know why. I wear these socks every week.

My wife washes them and I wear them when I am looking for big cats, summer or winter. They are very comfortable.”