FED-UP Royal Marine recruits have written to Nick Knowles to ask if his DIY SOS team can improve their barracks.

       Starters at the Commando Training Centre contacted the star, 61, left, to complain of overcrowding, poor heating and dodgy showers at the base.

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       Rookies at the Royal Marine Commando Training Centre in Lympstone, Devon, are unimpressed with conditions Credit: Alamy 4

       Recruits have even written to DIY SOS star Nick Knowles to plead for help Credit: Splash

       The cramped trainees, who at times have to sleep two to a bed, have also faced recent flooding and power failures.

       One recruit’s mum said: “He’s told me it’s freezing, there’s damp and they live eight to a tiny room. It sounds terrible.

       "He says the officers aren’t interested and laughed when the said they’d written to Nick Knowles.”

       More than 1,000 rookies a year go through training at the 60-year-old base in Lympstone, Devon, with around half of completing it and earning their coveted green beret.

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       Contractors were called last year when water from a burst pipe began pouring through ceilings.

       One said at the time: “You expect this on Dartmoor, not in accommodation on camp.”

       BBC sources said hundreds write in to DIY SOS and, to ensure impartiality, Knowles and his team do not choose projects.

       Representatives for the star and the BBC were approached for comment.

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       More than 1,000 trainees are put through their paces in Lympstone every year Credit: Getty Images - Getty 4

       Conditions at the barracks are said to be freezing and cramped, with recent power failures reported Credit: Getty Images - Getty