An Aylesbury woman has become the first licensee of a national brand delivering qualified female plumbers.
Gemma Lawrence-Davis operates Pink Plumbers throughout Aylesbury and Thame.
She travels to work in a pink and white Ford Transit van and wears a pink T-shirt, but the work she carries out is just the same as male plumbers.
She said: “I’m punctual and people feel comfortable with me entering their house.
“I can do everything from fixing toilets to installing radiators.
Gemma, who lives in Stocklake, studied for four years to qualify as a plumber after helping a relative to fit her bathroom.
She said: “I could never see myself sitting in an office all day, I like doing different things and meeting people.
“I’m practically minded so it suits me. I have to think out of the box and problem solve.
“It’s not a standard day.
“One day I’m working on taps, the next I’ll be installing central heating.”
Although Gemma is not gas qualified she can turn her hand to most things including leaks and drips and small jobs including taps, ball valves and stopcocks to washing machine and dishwasher installations, pipework, silicone seals, air locks, sink replacements and cylinders, tanks and immersions.
An independent report published by Pink Plumbers of more than 1,000 households concluded that British people no longer expect or want a man to do their dirty work, but prefer a choice of male or female tradespeople.
When asked what gender they would prefer to fix their plumbing problems, 86% of ladies chose a woman or at least wanted to have the choice of a female.
Jo Lawrence, the founder of Pink Plumbers, said: “The results confirm that the UK’s attitude to women in trade is changing. It shows that women can break down the barriers to this male dominated profession.
“I set up Pink Plumbers to help other women like Gemma succeed in business and to give home owners a real choice.”
So passionate is Ms Lawrence about her work that she has written a book called Hints and Tips for the Practical Plumber, which is available on Amazon.
Gemma can be contacted on gemma@pinkplumbers.co.uk