BRITISH men cannot tell the truth when it comes to their DIY skills, new national research has revealed.

Every year they claim credit for building furniture items that they have simply bought ready made from a shop, according to the nationwide study by Ronseal and they regularly blame their own DIY blunders on someone or something else.

The phenomena has left the UK’s women asking “DI-Why?” and it is all because admitting they are useless with a screwdriver or even an allen key for the flatpacking males makes them feel less manly.

Being economical with the truth about DIY registers as the most common cause for telling lies among the menfolk of the United Kingdom, the new survey data from Ronseal reveals.

Ronseal polled 2,000 men across Britain to find out what fuelled their biggest and most regular lies.

It was not, as some might think, the misuse of the words “I Love You” that Brit men admit is their biggest cause of fibbing.

One in five men (19%) routinely blame DIY mishaps on someone or something else, even though they know it is their own amateur DIY skills that are actually to blame.

Even more common is buying an item "off the shelf" from a store and then claiming the credit for making it. Twenty-two per cent of Brit men hold their hands up and admit they have done that.

Almost a quarter of Britain’s men (24%) admit they have lied to their partner with the sole motivation being that they get out of doing a DIY job around the house.

Ronseal spokeswoman Adelle Bradford said: “We carried out this study to see if the nation takes honesty as seriously as Ronseal does. We are renowned for doing what it says on the tin.

“And according to our nationwide poll, men just can’t be honest about their DIY exploits. DIY is, in fact, the biggest reason for telling lies among British men in 2014.

“Many pretend they’ve built things they have bought from shops and some lie that they’ll do DIY jobs around the house with no intention of keeping that promise.”

Some shameless DIY frauds - 17% of the nation’s men - have claimed the glory for a DIY job they have paid a professional to carry out.

"I’ll do the DIY next week" is among the top five lies told by UK men, according to the study, coming in at number three, behind "I don’t think your bum looks big in that" and "I don’t think she looks that pretty".