Britain is a nation of deluded DIY-ers, with most people believing they are good at DIY but collectively wasting billions of pounds each year on decorating disasters.
Six out of 10 adults insist they are good or very good at home maintenance, while only 7% rate their skills as very bad. But new research by Wilko shows that the average annual cost of DIY blunders is £138.70 per household - which equates to £3.05bn annually across the UK.

Almost a quarter of Brits admit to experiencing a DIY disaster, ranging from collapsing shelves and spilt paint to more extreme mishaps such as drilling through a neighbour's water pipe, falling through a ceiling and even being hospitalised with a skin infection after misusing a DIY product.

The cost of the damage is not solely financial either. Thirty per cent of men surveyed admit to feeling like less of a man because their DIY skills are not up to scratch, 43% of women argue with their partners over DIY and while four in10 women admit they get annoyed because their partner is not good at home maintenance.

A little over half of women claim to enjoy DIY and 38% insist they are as good as or better than their partners at it. And the research shows this belief may not be unfounded, because men are four times more likely than women to experience a DIY disaster.

Speaking about the results of the study, Wilko spokesperson Karen Jefferys said problems seem to arise when people over-complicate simple tasks or lack the correct tools for the job.

"Trying to follow complex 'expert' advice or overloading on the excessive amounts of information, often conflicting, that can be found online can be counterintuitive," she said.

The research shows that the living room and kitchen receive the most TLC, being redecorated more than anywhere else.