BRICKING IT

Britain’s chronic brick shortage is ramping up house prices, a report has warned. The supply of the vital building material is failing to keep pace with the demand for homes, exacerbating Britain’s housing crisis, according to the National Association of Estate Agents.

It said the industry would need to find 1.4 billion bricks – the equivalent of 740 Big Bens –to plug Britain’s shortfall of 264,000 homes.

The study, compiled by the Centre for Economics and Business Research, found that more than 60% of small and medium-sized construction firms faced a two-month wait for new brick orders last year.

There are also concerns that Britain’s vote to leave the European Union could hamper supply further, as 85% of imported clay and cement bricks came into the UK from the EU last year.