Older people are being warned that the currently popular Vatican Stoves will not adequately heat their homes during cold weather.
'The stove has recently received a lot of television advertising,' said a spokeswoman from the consumer group Which?, 'and its Italian manufacturers have received an unprecedented number of orders.'
Age UK point out that the stoves are only effective where large numbers of elderly men congregate in a sealed room and even then the wearing of fancy women's clothing is recommended.
The stoves also need an elaborate chimney to remove the black and white smoke it produces which tends to attract large crowds outside the user's home.
Which? also warns that the Vatican Stove's preferred fuel of discarded ballot papers may be hard to obtain on some garage forecourts.