Ref. 29467-42A SWITCHED-ON customer has flushed out a real gem in the gents of a Wootton Bassett pub.

For years drinkers at The Sally Pussey Inn in Swindon Road have been spending a penny in the avocado-coloured urinals blissfully unaware that they may be worth quite a few pounds.

Mounted on chocolate-brown and orange tiling, the 1970s urinals do not immediately stand out as a work of art.

But according to the mystery customer, who said he worked for Stoke-on-Trent firm Twyford's Bathrooms, the set of three urinals are up there with fine Wedg-wood Pottery.

Shocked landlady Norah Thomas said the man complimented her on her taste as he swiftly finished his pint and left, adding that they were among the finest examples he had ever come across.

"I couldn't believe it," said Norah, who has managed the mid-19th century pub for two years with business partner Mike Randall.

"Apparently, it's the colour that makes them unusual. Most that were made were white. Most of the coloured ones have been ripped out."

Now it seems these too are destined for a similar fate unless a collector can be found.

James Arkell, managing director of Stratton-based Arkell's Brewery, which owns the pub, said it would soon be undergoing a major refit, and there are no plans to include the urinals.

"We think they were installed around 20 years ago when avocado bathrooms were fashionable," he said.

"As much as we would like to keep them for prosperity, I'm afraid they have to go. We're building an extension to the pub, providing better disabled access."

Terry Woolliscroft, customer training manager at Twyford's Bathrooms, which has manufactured bathroom porcelain since 1849, confirmed the urinals were rare, but couldn't put a price tag on them.

He said: "Coloured sanitaryware was all the rage in the 1970s. Very few were produced for commercial use."

Kevin Shoesmith