More than half of young people lack the skills they need to maintain their homes, with many relying on their parents to carry out basic tasks, a UK survey suggested yesterday.

Around 50 per cent of people aged under 35 admitted they did not know how to rewire a plug, while 54 per cent did not know how to bleed a radiator and 63 per cent said they would not attempt to put up wallpaper, according to Halifax Home Insurance. Other basic jobs, such as putting up shelves, were beyond 45 per cent of those questioned, while 36 per cent said they would not even attempt to do gardening themselves. Instead 42 per cent would pay a professional to do the work.

Nearly two-thirds of young people admitted that their father was far better at DIY than they were. The study also found that when the under 35s do attempt to do a job themselves and it goes wrong, it costs nearly three times as much to fix as problems caused by other age groups.

The average cost of putting right a botched DIY job carried out by someone under 35 is £2,498, compared with around £838 for those aged over 45.