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A staggering £3.1 billion has been spent on fixing or replacing broken gadgets in the last five years, a new UK study has revealed.
Mobile phones are the item most likely to meet an accidental end, with eight million of the fragile gadgets damaged in the last five years.
A survey of 2,000 homeowners revealed that, across British households, 5.3 million laptops and PCs and 4.1 million cameras have also fried at the hands of their uncoordinated owners in that time.
Water damage is the greatest phone-killer, accounting for 23 per cent of mobile phone and seven per cent of laptop claims.
Kat Robinson, Head of TSB Insurance, who commissioned the research, said: "Now more than ever we rely on our gadgets to get through the day, so it’s unfortunate when they are taken out of action unexpectedly.
"The time and expense of dealing with smashed screens, sizzled monitors and defective equipment is a major gripe that many of us are needlessly suffering through because of having no insurance or picking inadequate protection."
But the research revealed more unusual ways to destroy your digital appliances. One unlucky respondent had their phone consumed by a horse, while another had it slip out of their hands and into the toilet bowl, while they were trying to take a selfie while on the loo.
One over-enthusiastic fan totalled his phone at a football game after Gareth Bale scored the winning goal for Tottenham at White Hart Lane, and another had their TV destroyed when it was struck by lightning.
The study also revealed our typical ‘walking wealth’ – the cost of the gadgets we carry around with us on a daily basis – at an average of £288 per person.
