MEN love washing up more than watching TV! Don't laugh, it's true, if a new survey from Zanussi is to be believed. Modern man David Higgerson traded in his rubber gloves for a notepad, and went to check the word on the street. . .

Could it really be the case that fewer men behave badly than microwave madly? Apparently so.

Blackburn men, many out shopping with wives and girlfriends at the weekend, were queuing up to sing the praises of their cooker, microwave and dishwasher.

Canvasser Richard McNamara said: "I couldn't live without my cooker.

"I like good, homemade food, not any of this frozen rubbish."

Shoppers Daniel Broughton and Rachel Clarke, from Blackburn, disagreed over how much men do around the house.

"I do a lot of cooking and I know how to work my cooker," boasted Daniel. "I do quite a lot of the washing up as well." But Rachel retorted: "Men cook and wash up once in a blue moon, and even then only when they have to."

Ellen and Jim Shaw already have the housework sussed.

Ellen commented: "We share all the domestic chores 50/50, although I do most of the cooking."

Jim added: "I do some cooking though, generally when Ellen is out, so I get a steak in."

Shop workers Katie Briggs and Janet Alston soon came to blows over men in the kitchen, with Katie believing men pitch in more than ever, while Janet insisted that women still do most of the cooking.

John Kershaw, Zanussi's head of marketing, said: "It looks like more men are becoming domesticated as we head towards the new millennium, with lads learning to love and use the kitchen to enhance their lifestyles."

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.