Joe the Plumber's story has sprung a few leaks. It turns out that the man held up by John McCain as the typical, hard-working American taxpayer isn't really a proper plumber and owes nearly $1,200 in back taxes.

And, officially at least, he isn't even called Joe.

The burly, bald Samuel J Wurzelbacher first came to public attention when he stopped Barack Obama on the street in Toledo last weekend and complained about his plans to raise taxes on America's wealthy.

“I’m getting ready to buy a company that makes $250,000 to $280,000 a year,” he told Mr Obama. “Your new tax plan is going to tax me more, isn’t it?”

Footage of the encounter soon made it to YouTube and caused a stir with conservative bloggers. It was also seized on by John McCain who mentioned "Joe the Plumber" no fewer than 20 times during the final presidential debate on Wednesday night.

Mr Wurzelbacher became an instant celebrity, fielding calls during the debate and facing reporters outside his home near Toledo the following morning for an impromptu news conference broadcast across the nation.

Then came the backlash. A bit of digging soon uncovered the fact that Mr Wurzelabacher doesn't have a plumber's licence. He acknowledged that, but said he did not need one because he works for someone else at a company that does residential work.

Local officials said that he would still need to be a licensed apprentice or "journeyman" to work in Toledo, which he is not.

And then there was the matter of his taxes - according to court records, Mr Wurzelbacher owes the state of Ohio $1,182.98 in personal income tax. Last January the Ohio Department of Taxation filed a claim on his property until he pays the debt.

Even if Mr Wurzelbacher was in a position to buy the plumbing business he works for, it would be unlikely that his personal income would ever climb over $250,000. Currently he earns much less, he admits, so would probably be in line for a tax cut under Mr Obama's plans.

Leaning against his black Dodge Durango SUV outside his home yesterday morning, Mr Wurzelbacher at first was amused by the media attention, then overwhelmed and finally a little annoyed.

"I don’t have a lot of pull. It’s not like I’m Matt Damon,” he complained.

Taping an appearance on Late Show with David Letterman yesterday afternoon, Mr McCain admitted that he had not yet spoken to Mr Wurzelbacher, and apologised for the press attention he had received after the debate.

But that didn't stop him taking his name in vain one more time, at a charity dinner in New York last night when Mr McCain complained that Mr Obama's running-mate, "Joe the Six-Term Senator Biden", had been questioning the plumber's veracity and joked about his own property holdings.

"He claims that this honest, hard-working small businessman could not possibly have enough income to face a tax increase under the Obama plan," Mr McCain said.

"What they don't know is that Joe the Plumber recently signed a very lucrative contract with a wealthy couple to handle all the work on all seven of their houses."

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