Despite large writing on his van that claims otherwise, handyman Anthony, not his real name, has had to accept that the size of a job would become an issue in extreme cases.

“I’m not sure if they were taking the piss but I was not prepared to do that.”

Anthony, also admitted that if he were asked to paint the inside of something massive like the CERN Large Hadron Collider he would have to refuse.

He said: “It’s just me with a stepladder really, so I probably couldn’t paint an entire particle collider, although I might be able to recommend a larger firm that could.

“This is hard stuff for me to admit, because my entire personality is based on a flexible, can-do approach to practical tasks. It’s a bit like finding out there is no God.”