Research from the insurer found that shoddy DIY jobs caused damage to neighbouring properties in 590,000 British homes in 2007. The average bill for properties suffering damages at the hands of their neighbours in the South East was £218. Resulting damage included water cascading into neighbouring properties through pierced pipes, adjoining walls being demolished and broken garden ornaments.

According to the research, one-in-ten homeowners blamed the damage on professional workmen. A surprising one-in-three victims of such damage were forced to foot the bill for repairs or claim on their own home insurance policy. In a further 27% of incidents, the costs were shared between both parties.

David Rochester, head of underwriting at Halifax Home Insurance, said: “A number of errant DIY-ers are not just damaging their properties, but their neighbours’ homes too. But even more interesting is that so many victims handle the situation with typically British aplomb. Indeed, over two thirds of them chose to pay towards the cost of repairing their home – rather than create a fuss. Perhaps they weren’t aware that they could have claimed for repairing the damage on their neighbour’s insurance policy.”