According to Digging Up Britain 2026, an annual report from safe digging experts LSBUD, 4,094,214 searches were made through the LSBUD platform in 2025, a 6% increase on 2024 activity.

This means that a record number of people are checking for underground assets before breaking ground – keeping both themselves and the infrastructure safe.

Searches by the electricity industry grew by 63.8% – a standout for the utility sector. This was so considerable that electricity more than doubled its share of overall searches to 9%. Ditch clearance was the highest growing search-related activity for agricultural works, with searches increasing by a massive 91.5%.

The impact of this rise is the protection of crucial underground assets. The LSBUD service helped to prevent more than 5.8 million asset strikes across the top 10 asset owners. Across the remaining owners, the number will be much higher.

Strikes can result in serious injury, or even death, as hitting underground gas or electrical cables can cause flooding, explosions and electrical outages.

Richard Broome, managing director of LSBUD, says: “For the first time ever, searches through the LSBUD platform have exceeded 4 million, a sign that safer behaviour is becoming much more deeply embedded across our industry, which is a significant achievement for ourselves and the sector.

“Nearly all areas of works are increasing searches before they dig, and the number of potential asset strikes prevented speak for themselves. It’s great to see that the safe digging message is really starting to hit home.

“Our asset base has grown by 25% in the past year – a massive increase. This means that more than 170 organisations, accounting for over 2.5 million kilometres of pipelines and cables, are now LSBUD members, all of which are reaping the benefits of being on the platform and protecting their assets. Every time that an asset is found through a search on our platform, it is raised with the asset owner, providing greater assurance to our members that activities are being flagged, and assets are being protected.

“Most importantly, though, it means that we are all working towards our joint goal of safe digging for all.”

Read the full Digging up Britain 2026 report and find out more about LSBUD and its safe digging service.