Why Sunderland's milk bottles vanished: The 1971/1972 mystery

They faced a milk bottle nightmare because more than one million of them disappeared over the Christmas holidays of 1971.

Drinka pinta milka day - but remember to return the bottle

It was such a huge headache that Milk Marketing Board officials were facing up to a bleak reality - that £1.5m of new bottles had been swiped in one festive season alone.

Mr M Preston, manager of the Board’s Durham area, said that £1,500,000 new bottles were put into circulation by the Board and that most of these had vanished. Those lost from the Durham depot alone were worth £2,500.

Steep increase in bills was the likely outcome

His depot’s average monthly loss amounted to nearly £150,000 and he warned that unless this trend changed, steep increases in milk bills could be on the way.

A Sunderland Echo report at the time said: “Where the bottles go is no real mystery, Many of those lost are bought from shops and instead of taking them back they throw them away.”

The Milk Marketing Board was hoping to find a solution by launching a campaign to urge people to return their bottles.

Tags on every bottle

Bottles would be delivered with a special tag asking customers to return their bottles every day.

Officials at Sunderland Creamery said they had a severe loss of bottles throughout the year and the holiday period was no exception.

Tell us what you remember about the days of daily milk deliveries - or maybe you still get your doorstep bottle.

Email [email protected] to tell us more.