UK homeowners are increasingly using consumer finance to fund DIY projects which they think will lend value onto the price of their home, a new report claims.

A study from Halifax says that 58 per cent of the UK population has carried out a DIY project in the last year - with 25 per cent saying that they had undertaken such a project to add value to their property.

Last year, the proportion who had undertaken such work to add value to their property stood at seven per cent, in contrast.

"Home improvements are becoming more popular with people looking to add value to their home and improve saleability," Phil Jenks, head of mortgages at Halifax, commented.

"Whilst DIYers continue to favour the more simple home improvements, such as redecorating, there are also signs that people are beginning to view their gardens as an extension of their home and are investing more time and money in improving the outdoors as well as the indoors."

Around two-thirds of those surveyed in the Halifax study said that they had taken out finance to fund their DIY project.