Plumber quits industry after 40 years due to 10th van break-in, the construction workforce falls by 1.3% in the last quarter and half of Brits don't have enough money for emergency home repairs
A veteran plumber has been forced to quit the trade after his van was broken into for the 10th time.
David Humphreys’ van was written off last month after more than £5,000 worth of damage was caused by thieves trying to break in.
Humphreys, who has worked in the trade for 40 years said that upgrading his van security had proved counterproductive because it had to lead to greater damage.
He told the BBC that he didn’t want to commit to buying another van when he would probably only “plumb for another three or four years”.
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Construction employment slumped to its lowest point since 2000 — that’s according to government statistics released this week.
The construction workforce fell to just over 2 million between July and September, a drop of 1.3%.
The construction workforce has now shrunk by 15% since COVID.
The downturn in housing demand, a weak commercial sector, and the rise in employer costs have combined to impact many firms’ recruitment plans.
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Half of Brits have less than £1,000 in the bank, leaving millions unable to afford emergency repair work on their homes, claims a survey from MyBuilder.com.
The research also found that 42% of Brits don’t know what is and isn’t covered under their home insurance.
The average cost of emergency repair work typically comes in at over £1,000.
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