Rising demand for new housing has boosted growth in the construction industry to its strongest so far this year. Extra orders for commercial property work are also supporting the industry as it thaws out from the deep freeze at the start of the year which dented activity.

A survey of businesses indicates the sector is expanding at its fastest pace in seven months - the purchasing managers’ index (PMI) from IHS Markit climbed to 53.1 in June, up from 52.5 in May.

This is above the ‘no change’ level of 50, though still represents only modest growth.

Orders for new homes rose the fastest in a year and companies are hiring more workers to service the demand.

Builders increased their purchases of raw materials at the fastest pace since the start of 2016 to meet demand, and also to beat anticipated price rises.

Although the construction sector only makes up around 6pc of GDP, economists are hopeful that its recovery is a positive sign for the wider economy.