The lack of licensing in the UK raises some serious issues.

A recent report in the Daily Mail highlights the problems that the UK has with their plumbing regulatory system.

The report by Sam Webb accuses programs such as DIY SOS and Grand Designs of turning amateur handymen into unlicensed tradespeople.

Unfortunately poorly installed pipes are seeping raw sewage and toxic materials into UK waterways, not only affecting humans but marine life as well.

A Thames Water spokesperson said an estimated 300,000 properties across England and Wales had pipes that were incorrectly installed.

He said: ‘People put in a new washing machine and plug it into what looks like the waste pipe but it goes to the surface water drain and it enters a local stream.

‘Water from appliances and sewage needs to go to sewage treatment plants.’

The spokesperson accused DIYers of the rise in plumbing problems. He said: ‘Less housing is being sold because of the recession so many people are staying in their houses and improving them.’

To combat the problem, Thames water is seeking legislative change to that will see water companies enforce work at private homes.

Local authorities would then have more power to combat these issues.

Dr Robert Keirle, pollution programme manager at the Marine Conservation Society, told The Observer: ‘As DIY has become more popular, aided by an explosion in property programmes on television, the problem has grown.

‘It is also probably a result of the times we live in, with people unable to afford to call in tradesmen to do the plumbing.’

Mark Lloyd, chief executive of the Angling Trust, told the paper his members had seen a change at fishing spots, particularly in inner cities. ‘The sewage removes oxygen, encouraging eutrophication, meaning that it grows a lot of algae and the water becomes stagnant.’

It is estimated that half a million households will have plumbing problems by 2015.