Almost half of Britons admit to buying DIY tools that hardly ever emerge from the toolbox, a new study has found.
Research by Legal & General's general insurance business discovered that over 21m adults - 45% - have purchased tools they either never or hardly ever use. Only 21% say they use DIY tools they have bought on a regular basis.

We spend an average of £103 each on tools that are simply gathering dust, men being the worst offenders, spending an average of £116 on unused equipment, compared to just £87 spent by women. In total, over £2.2bn is wasted on unnecessary purchases.

It even seems that Brits fail to be put off buying tools they do not know how to use. Thirty-nine per cent of those researched said they had bought a drill in the last five years, yet 24% of the sample admitted they were not confident in operating one.

Legal & General also found that 35% had bought no DIY tools during the last five years, and that 68% could not carry out the most basic home maintenance tasks.

The research also confirmed the growing trend for women to tackle DIY tasks: 78% of those surveyed thought that women were increasingly taking responsibility for home maintenance.

However, 62% of females said they would find it unattractive if their partner did not have a basic grasp of home maintenance and DIY skills, while 46% of men confessed they would be embarrassed if their partner knew more about DIY than they did.

Mike Lawler, director for Legal & General's general insurance business, offered this advice: "For those people who have bought DIY tools, get them out, check they are still OK to use, and have a go at getting some of those repairs done. Or, if you're not that confident, get help from someone who is, to avoid small problems becoming costly."