A MAKE do and mend attitude during the economic downturn has seen an oven valeting business flourish.

Derek Lancaster, 47, said that since January his Darlington- based business had had its busiest three months in the past six years.

Mr Lancaster, who operates his Ovenu franchise in the Darlington DL postcode area with wife Debra, also 47, said people were not buying new household appliances, but cleaning their old ones.

The former RAF chef said: “I have been doing this six years and this year has been the best we have ever had, it has been second to none.

“Bookings have increased by 25 per cent over the first three months of this year.”

Mr Lancaster believes one reason for the increase is because house vendors are facing increasing competition for fewer buyers and want to present their property in the best way.

“Because of this, people finding an oven in top condition would make them realise it was a piece of equipment they would not have to replace when they moved in,” said Mr Lancaster.

“We are also seeing a knock-on effect from a shift towards a “make do and mend” attitude, as householders are putting off buying new and instead turning to people like us to help preserve and prolong the life of their existing appliances,” he added.

Rik Hellewell, the founder of Ovenu, agreed that more people were getting their existing equipment serviced rather than pay for new.

He said: “I use the internet to measure how we are doing and the site has seen traffic more than double since the same period in 2006.

“The service we offer to supply replacement and spare parts for ovens has also grown substantially, with sales last year nearly double those of 2007, as customers look at ways to prolong the life of their appliances and put off buying big-ticket items.”

Ovenu was founded in 1994 and now has more than 100 franchisees in the UK. It has operators in the US, Europe, Australia and New Zealand.