Is Derbyshire worst for DIY?

Dales residents have hit back against claims that they are among the least practical people in the UK following results of a survey.

Results from aquestionnaire of 2,000 people show just 40 per cent of people in Derbyshire are able to fit a new wheel, 31 per cent can’t unblock a toilet and only 34 per cent of residents can speak a foreign language.

The study – which was carried out by conference call provider Powwownow – claims 18 to 24–year–olds are least able to carry out basic practical skills like changing a burst tyre or unclogging a loo.

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Speaking on Facebook however, residents of the Derbyshire Dales have defied these findings.

John Dunsby commented: “I’m a cabinet maker/joiner. I tile, plaster, plumb, fit kitchens. How is that not practical?”

Nita Chamberlain added: “I do all the painting and decorating in my house and have for friends aswell – tiled kitchen, laid a patio, some turfing and mulching in my back garden. I love DIY and will try to do as much as I can myself .”

Alan Palfreyman said: “I DIY myself. All jobs around my house I have done.”

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John Mark Wild added that people have to do jobs around the house themselves nowadays because people do not have the money to pay someone else to do it.

However Andrew Tipping commented: “I’ve hammered one nail into this house in 8eight years – into a floorboard and through the central heating pipe. I’m not allowed near a hammer anymore.”

Martyn Taylor said: “Once, I did it myself and by the time I’d finished the curtains were stuck together and the thick end was at the bottom.”

According to the survey, Derbyshire women are the worst offenders for having a ‘can’t do’ attitude – while five per cent of blokes have admitted to pressing the snooze button on their alarm clock at least once every morning.