In the long list of things that I have to do, ironing is probably quite a low priority. However, as much as I would like to extend my "fold it whilst it is still warm out of the dryer/fresh off the line" philosophy to all items, sometimes you do have to iron.

This board is the one I have owned for the last 3 years, and it does get used at least twice a week, I iron workshirts and uniforms; pre-children I used to iron everything including duvet covers, but these days life is too short. My mum's ironing board has lasted her the whole of her married life - I have my ten year wedding anniversary coming up, and all I can say is I hope that my marriage is in a better state than this board. During the time I have owned it various bits have dropped off and I have found it annoying in the extreme.

I purchased this exact board - I have exactly the identical cover as in the photo, but I think it comes in a range of patterns - as I had been looking for a larger width board for ages, this one is 122 x 43 cm. At £40 (now about £38 from Tesco direct), it seemed a good deal, and I had found ironing boards surprisingly hard to find on the High Street - maybe my "iron only if absolutely necessary" approach is widespread.

It has a rack underneath for ironed items, allegedly, and with an attachment for the flex and fold out hanger holder, it seemed to have lots of features. A good board, right? Wrong.

The first complaint I have is the cover - it is stupidly thin and the mesh under it, which if memory serves, was supposed to make ironing easier, doesn't, and as a board the surface just feels less than solid.

Secondly it is hard to put this board up correctly - the leg has to go onto a line of teeth and sometimes gets wedged in the wrong place, this is hard to explain, but basically you end up having to start again. I do find I could adjust the height, but not easily.

The rack under the board is of no use to anyone, flimsy and with holes in strange places (what is it supposed to hold? I don't know..) and the fold-out shirt rack fell off about the fifth time I used it - it is just a length of metal that is slightly thicker than wire, and has a few wiggles in it. I did replace it in its housing a few times and then gave up.

You would think there wouldn't be much else to be wrong with such a simple item, but no, the rubber feet on the sides of the void for the iron also regularly pop out - why they are emblazoned proudly with "Minky" escapes me, in all honesty they would do well not to remind anyone that they made this aberation.

The legs are solid enough, and you can iron with it, and the wide width does make ironing easier, which is the reason for me giving the board two stars and not one, but this item is just not great. If you are feeling that I am struggling to find anything good to say about it, you would be right. This board is heavy, badly constructed and just disappointing in so many ways. The only reason I haven't binned this item and bought something (anything) else is that spending money on an ironing board is not a priority either, and so I go on using this and muttering darkly every time I struggle to assemble it for use.

I can't recommend this item, in all honesty I wish I had bought something of better quality in the first place - it really is a case of buy cheap(ish), buy twice here - a poor show from Minky I am afraid - shame as it looks great on the photo! I have tried to be as objective about this item as possible, honestly, but I am afraid there is no excuse for poor design and construction on this scale, and my mum's nearly 50 year old ironing board is much much better.