RESEARCH conducted by the national leading underground mapping provider, LSBUD, to coincide with National Safe Digging Week, reveals the danger that residents in the South West are putting themselves in when digging in their own gardens.

With more than half the region completing digging work in the last 12 months, and half planning on doing some in the next 12, the potential for injury, or worse, is high.

One in five residents in the South West have hit an underground pipe or cable whilst digging, or they know someone who has, with seven per cent of these incidents resulting in injury.

For some of those working in specific trades the figures are much higher with more than two in five builders and 36 percent of farmers admitting to either striking a pipe or cable themselves or knowing a colleague who has.

The study found that 21 per cent of residents don’t bother to check for underground pipes or cables before using a spade or a fork to carry out digging works including fencing, renovation work, building a shed or putting in a patio or a driveway, all of which present a significant risk.