Vibration management specialists Reactec have warned that the UK's construction industry could be harbouring a ticking HAVS timebomb, due to the rapid increase in self-employed workers.

ONS figures have shown that since 2008 the number of self-employed workers across all industries, including construction, has increased by 367,000 to 770,000.

Stewart McNaughton, Health and Safety Consultant at Reactec Ltd, said: "Given the recent increases in self-employment within the construction industry, there's a real risk of a HAVS ticking timebomb that has so far gone undetected.

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"Because self-employed workers aren't entitled to claim through the Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit IIDB scheme, we simply don't know the true scale of the problem.

"Our own recent estimates suggest that HAVS could be costing Britain as much as £4.92 billion, when taking into account the cost to individuals, employers and Government.

"However, this is purely based on reported figures. In reality, that cost is likely to be much higher if you factor in self-employed incidence, which is rarely reported.

"With construction in the UK picking up once again, we believe that the Government needs to try and identify the extent of the disease amongst the UK's self-employed population and put procedures in place to identify new cases."