Don't you think it's a little past its sell by date? OAP reveals she's kept an Easter egg preserved in its box for 52 YEARS

By PAUL SIMS FOR MAILONLINE
Updated:


Wrapped in a pink bow and beautifully preserved in its original box, this luxurious Easter egg has remained unopened for an astonishing 52 years.

And for that reason, it may just have cracked a world record as the oldest untouched chocolate egg.

Its proud owner, Mavis Turner, 88, refused to open it when her then 11-year-old son bought it for her in 1959 as an Easter treat – because she thought it looked too nice to eat.

Just crack it open: Mavis Turner, 88, has kept an Easter egg given to her by her son David, 63, for 52 years because it looked too good to eat

Just crack it open: Mavis Turner, 88, has kept an Easter egg given to her by her son David, 63, for 52 years because it looked too good to eat

Instead, the great-grandmother put it on display at her home in Pontefract, West Yorkshire.

The egg – a Needler’s Easter Casket – cost her son £3, 11 shillings and six pence when it was bought in the same year the first Barbie doll went on sale and the first section of the M1 motorway opened.

The egg, which would have cost £58 in today’s money, came gift wrapped in an octagonal box, complete with three trays of chocolates.

By the time Mrs Turner’s son presented her with it, Britain had left behind the years of austerity and rationing that followed the Second World War.

But at such a high price, this Easter egg was still a luxury only a few could afford.

Luxury: When Mavis received the egg it was considered a decadent excessLuxury: When Mavis received the egg it was considered a decadent excess

Luxury: When Mavis received the egg it was considered a decadent excess

Mrs Turner, a mother of three who has six grandchildren and ten great-grandchildren, was so impressed she put it on display and now brings the pretty treat out every Easter.

‘I take a look at it every year, it’s very special to me,’ she said yesterday.

‘It meant a lot to me that my son had saved the money to buy me such a beautiful Easter egg.’ She added: ‘Some of the chocolates have gone a bit white now, but I’m keeping it safe for next year.’

Mrs Turner’s son, David, now 63, was paid sixpence to run errands for his neighbour and spent many months saving for the gift.

‘When I gave it to her she said, “It looks gorgeous, I can’t eat that, I’m going to save it”,’  he said.

The retired gardener, who lives at home with his mother, still buys her an Easter egg every year, but added: ‘That one’s special.’

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