British manufacturing exports have been boosted by sterling’s tumble in the wake of the Brexit vote and strong growth in the sector could return by the end of the year, according to manufacturers.

EU demand is underpinning the sector’s confidence about future orders, according to a quarterly survey by industry trade body EEF, which represents thousands of manufacturers and engineers - the first such piece of research since the June 23 referendum.

The EEF said the strongest orders had been in electronics and electrical equipment. The research included responses from 450 EEF members.

Lee Hopley, chief economist at EEF said: “Manufacturers’ confidence collapsed in the aftermath of the referendum,” she said, “but our latest survey provides some relief that this has corrected.

“Signs of an export revival are helping to drive more optimism about activity in the second half of the year, but concerns about whether the UK economy can shrug off post-referendum challenges is clearly evident.”