HIGHER PAY IN BUILDING TRADE AS FIRMS STRUGGLE WITH LACK OF SKILLED WORKERS

Bricklayers are being paid up to £25 an hour as building firms struggle to recruit skilled workers, a new report has revealed.

A shortage of tradesmen and women is now regarded as one of the main risks to business, with vacancies for bricklayers particularly hard to fill, the study found.

Three out of five recruitment agencies say that demand for temporary construction workers has increased, said the Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC).

CHARITY URGES CRACKDOWN ON 'BARBARIC' DOG FIGHTING

Campaigners are calling for tougher punishments for dog fighting and the details of people banned from keeping the animals to be kept on a national register.

The League Against Cruel Sports says its investigations revealed that dogs are being trained to fight daily, with banned breeds being sold in order to supply the high demand for "status and fighting dogs".

It is further calling for an urgent review of the Dangerous Dogs Act, arguing that its breed specific legislation is flawed.

INCREASED SCHIZOPHRENIA LINK IF MOTHER SMOKED IN PREGNANCY, STUDY SHOWS

Smoking during pregnancy can increase a baby's chances of developing schizophrenia later in life, a study has shown.

Research in Finland found that the more women were exposed to nicotine the greater chance they had of having a child affected by the severe mental illness.

Signs of heavy nicotine exposure in a mother's blood were associated with a 38% increased likelihood of schizophrenia.

ANGER AS COUNCIL APPROVES FIRST UK FRACKING PROJECT IN FIVE YEARS

Councillors in North Yorkshire have given the green light to the first fracking operation in the UK for five years.

The controversial decision has been condemned as a travesty by those opposed to the move, but a "victory for pragmatism" by those in favour.

The county council planning committee approved the application by UK firm Third Energy to frack for shale gas at an existing drilling site near the village of Kirby Misperton, between Malton and Pickering.

THOMAS BECKET RELIC ARRIVES AT WESTMINSTER ABBEY AS PILGRIMAGE CONTINUES

A relic of Thomas Becket, returning to England for the first time in 800 years, will arrive at Westminster Abbey as a week-long commemoration of the martyr continues.

The fragment of bone, believed to come from murdered archbishop's arm, was held by the Basilica of Esztergom in Hungary.

At the start of a seven-day "pilgrimage" to Canterbury Cathedral, where he was murdered in 1170, Becket's relic was received at Westminster Cathedral in London by Cardinal Vincent Nichols before mass was celebrated.

CHARLES TO MEET ARLENE FOSTER AND MARTIN MCGUINNESS ON NORTHERN IRELAND TRIP

The Prince of Wales will meet Northern Ireland's political leaders ahead of a full day of engagements in the region.

The private and separate meetings with First Minister Arlene Foster and Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness will begin a packed schedule for the heir to the throne.

The Duchess of Cornwall will join Charles later on Tuesday for a number of visits to local businesses and places of interest.

'I'M NOT AT WAR WITH CHRIS EVANS' SAYS MATT LEBLANC

Matt LeBlanc has dismissed claims he and Chris Evans are "at war" as a "big load of bullshit".

The Top Gear presenting duo have been the subject of reports alleging they do not get on.

The newly-launched show will return to television screens this weekend, featuring the all-new line-up of Evans, LeBlanc and four other hosts, plus The Stig.

EGYPTAIR JET SWERVE CLAIM DENIED AS HUNT FOR BLACK BOXES CONTINUES

The doomed EgyptAir Flight 804 did not swerve or lose altitude before it disappeared off radar, the head of Egypt's state-run provider of air navigation services has said.

The comments by Ehab Azmy, head of the National Air Navigation Services Company, challenged an earlier account by Greece's defence minister.

A French ship on Monday joined the international effort to hunt for the black boxes and other wreckage of the flight, which crashed into the Mediterranean, killing all 66 people on board.

RIOT POLICE DEPLOYED FOR EVACUATION FOR GREEK REFUGEE CAMP

Greek authorities began a dawn operation to evacuate the country's largest informal refugee camp of Idomeni, blocking access to the area and sending in more than 400 riot police.

The government's spokesman for the refugee crisis, Giorgos Kyritsis, said on Monday that the operation on the Macedonian border was expected to last about a week to 10 days.

The camp, which sprung up on what began as an informal pedestrian border crossing for refugees and migrants heading north to Europe, is home to an estimated 8,400 people.

BRAZIL MINISTER STEPS ASIDE OVER 'CORRUPTION PLOT' RECORDING

A minister in Brazil's new government has taken a leave of absence after he was secretly recorded apparently plotting to oust the former president in a bid to stall a huge corruption probe.

Planning minister Romero Juca is under investigation in the multibillion-pound kickback scheme at state oil company Petrobras.

Even some allies of acting president Michel Temer called for the firing or resignation of Mr Juca, who is also a senator, who seems in the recording to be plotting how to remove Dilma Rousseff.