In the poll of 500 tradespeople nearly half of respondents said that the asbestos training they had received was inadequate, and worryingly, 26% reported they hadn’t followed any safety precautions when they found it on site.

A quarter of those who’d discovered asbestos, said they were pressured to deal with it unsafely by their bosses.

The research, which was released to mark the 25^th anniversary of the banning of asbestos, estimates that there are 6 million tonnes of it remaining in UK buildings.

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Construction output continued to decline in March — that’s according to a survey of industry purchasing managers.

Output has now dropped in each month of the first quarter.

Last month’s performance was marginally better than February, which marked a 57-month low point for the Construction Purchasing Manager’s Index.

Civil engineering was the weakest performing area. While residential building improved month-on-month, it is still in decline.

Commercial building work was the best performing area of the industry.

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An Ayr Gold Cup winning jockey is taking up a new career as an electrician after injury has forced him to pause his racing career.

26-year-old Cameron Noble, who’d raced for the Roger Varian yard until recently, had partnered 137 winners worldwide but has struggled since breaking a femur in 2023.

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