ECJ EUROPEAN Cleaning Journal

An eight-year-old superfan of Henry vacuum cleaners has been given a limited edition model to mark the world-famous model's 45th anniversary.

Ted Wheeler from Melksham in Wiltshire has built up a collection of 35 Henrys over the past three years.

His obsession began when his father, Matt, asked five-year-old Ted to wipe down the family's Hetty machine to remove the dust and to keep him busy. When the boy discovered that Henry vacuums were also being used at his school, he began asking teachers if he could help tidy up.

"The school saw this as an opportunity to teach life skills," said his mother, Lisa. "Being well-behaved and completing schoolwork would then result in ‘vacuum time' at the end of the school day."

Ted gradually built up his own collection and now undertakes daily "mess tests" to ensure his vacuums are in good working order. "It's his favourite thing of the day," said Lisa.

Around one million Henrys are made each year at the Numatic manufacturing site in Chard, Somerset. The first model rolled off the production line in 1981.

Numatic has produced a limited edition vacuum to mark the occasion, and Ted was presented with one of them during a recent tour of the factory. Regional director Fiona McGarr said the special-edition launch was a "fitting way to celebrate the enduring strength of manufacturing in the UK".

"Henry is a product that generations of young people will have seen at home, in schools, hotels and other places in their everyday lives," she added.