A survey has found the most common DIY blunders that electricians get called out to fix - the top two responses involved lighting.
According to Trade Skills 4 U, a UK electrical training company, the most common jobs that "sparkies" get called out to as a result of poor handy work by unskilled DIY enthusiasts include light fittings (41%) and lighting circuits (29%).

Trade Skills said the temptation for householders to fit the latest light fittings can have devastating effects; typical problems include brass fittings becoming live, nails being used to mount light fittings and causing the lighting in the home to stop working altogether. And with botched lighting circuits, householders are normally confronted by more cables than they know what to do with.

DIY blunders account for over half of serious electrical shocks according to the Electrical Safety Council. Typical mistakes include drilling through wiring in walls, repairing an electrical appliance while it is still switched on and cutting through power leads. As well as this, one fifth of people with no electrical training say they will confidently attempt to install lighting in their home and one tenth would happily install new wiring.

As a result: "DIY electrical is actually keeping electricians busier than ever," said Trade Skills. "Householders attempting to cut corners or attempting their own repairs are the main cause of electricians being called to repair electrical DIY work that has gone wrong.

"Many of these jobs are a simple job for an electrician to carry out, and as a result have cost the householder far more than it would have done to call an electrician in to do the job in the first place."

The company said that with one person killed every week and thousands injured as a result of an electrical-related accident, it is clear to see that electrical safety messages are not getting through fully to the people who would most benefit.