Construction companies are increasingly worried about the economic outlook and political uncertainty has sent their confidence tumbling to a five-year low.

The industry’s output grew in September, but at a reduced rate. It was the weakest expansion in five months, dragged down by a slump in civil engineering work.

House building and commercial construction slowed but did manage an increase in output on the month, according to IHS Markit and the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply's purchasing managers' index (PMI), an influential private sector survey.