Feeling guilty about all those DIY jobs you haven't quite got round to? Well, if it is any comfort, you are not alone.

Millions of men have admitted they have no idea how to do simple household tasks.

And, it appears, DIY is being replaced by Ask Your Father because it is only the older generation who still have the necessary skills to maintain their homes.

A survey has found that a fifth of young men are incapable of rewiring a plug, and an astonishing 7 per cent cannot even change a light bulb.

Among older men only one in eight was unable to rewire a plug and just 4 per cent could not put in a new light bulb.

A clear implication of the survey is that in years to come householders will increasingly have to call in professionals to do these simple jobs because their fathers will no longer have the skills to help them.

For the survey, 3,000 men were quizzed about their basic knowledge, and the results were broken down into two groups - those under 40 and those over 40.

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On almost every issue the younger men did worse.

More than a quarter of younger men could not change a fuse, compared with 11 per cent of older men.

Just under a third of younger men did not know how to unblock a sink, while only a sixth of the older generation admitted the same.

Bleeding a radiator was beyond more than 30 per cent of the young, but only mystified less than a fifth of their parents.

And even painting walls is too tricky for 31 per cent of younger men, compared with less than a quarter of older men.

Flat-pack furniture, however, apparently remains flat in its pack for almost a quarter of the older generation, while it confuses only an eighth of the young.

And among both groups a fifth say they do not know how to put up a shelf.

The research was carried out for the Cosyhomesonline.com website, which offers advice on DIY, or guides you towards a tradesman if the task proves beyond you.

Spokesman Sylvia Marshall said: 'Modern man seems to lack time, confidence or experience when it comes to general household tasks and DIY.

'It's worrying basic household repairs appear to baffle men now - DIY skills are becoming a thing of the past.

'Putting up a shelf, changing a plug or fuse needn't be complicated, they are all easy things to do it's just a matter of learning the ropes.'

Overall the figures showed that Britain remains divided between those who can do, and do it, and those who cannot, and get someone else to.

More than 60 per cent of all men claimed to be handy around the home. Just over half said they loved DIY-while 46 per cent said they hated it.