A clever housewife has managed to balance her family budget - by renting out her husband to other women who don't have a man about the house.

But the offer from Renate Kogler, 28, from Graz, in Styria, Austria, is strictly limited to purely domestic duties, such as fixing and repairing things around the house or helping to lift and move things.

Renate said: 'A lot of single women really miss a man when it comes to putting together furniture, gardening or doing repairs around the house. My offer to rent out my husband Andreas is mainly targeted at single women, but also to those women whose men are not so handy around the house and with DIY.'

She added: 'When I was single I really missed having somebody to put my furniture together. I'm happy to share my man with others who are still stuck being single.'

She said her husband, 34, was a real handy man to have around, and added that all those who have hired him so far for the equivalent of £20 an hour have said they would come back for more.