People spend 79 per cent more money on home improvements than they do on improving their relationship with their partner, research says.

And over a third of people admit that they care more about their home than their loved one.

Rated Tradesmen, an online service that matches tradesmen to customer-submitted jobs, questioned over 1,000 UK homeowners to find out how emotionally attached people are to their homes.

British homeowners spend an average of £34 a week - £1,768 a year – on interior and exterior home improvements, compared with just £19 a week on improving their relationship with their partner.

Nearly four out of ten women and a third of men say that they would be more upset if the foundations of their house fell down rather than the foundations of their relationship.

And one in five homeowners say a good relationship with tradesmen is more important than a good relationship with a partner.

Andrew Skipwith, founder of Rated Tradesmen, said: "An Englishman's - and woman's - home is their castle and it seems when it comes to matters of the heart, bricks and mortar pull more strings than a romantic relationship with a partner.

"Indeed, a fifth of homeowners place more value on a good relationship with a tradesmen than they do their partner."

However, despite some homeowners loving tradesmen more than their partners, seven out of ten have had a bad relationship with UK tradesmen saying they were "unhappy" or "very unhappy" with the level of service they have received.

A whopping 34 per cent have employed another tradesman to correct a previous tradesman's mistakes, while15 per cent try and improve on a bad job themselves with a spot of DIY.

Fourteen per cent of homeowners who experienced unsatisfactory work preferred to do nothing and put it down to experience rather than face the hassle of a dispute.

The survey also found that Londoners come top of the home-lovers league, spending £42 a week on home improvements.

Homeowners in the Midlands (£38) and North East (£37) come second and third respectively, while propping up the bottom of the league come Scottish homeowners, spending only £26 a week on home improvements.

Skipwith added: "For most people their house is their most valuable asset so it's no surprise that people have such an emotional attachment to it.

"When it comes to dealing with tradesman it's so important you have a close, trusting relationship as you're often spending more money on home improvements than you are on your partner - and if you end up single at least you won't have a leaky roof over your head."