Urgent action is needed to avoid an economic slowdown across the UK, according to the Civil Engineering Contractors Association (CECA).

The organisation made the call after new Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures showed that output in the construction industry was estimated to have decreased 0.7% compared to the first quarter of 2016.

With infrastructure also falling 10.1% compared to the same period a year ago, Head of External Affairs for the CECA, Marie-Claude Hemming, said the decline is a result of uncertainty in the run up and aftermath of the EU referendum as well as the change in Government.

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"It is now imperative, in order to prevent recession that there is a fiscal stimulus from Government towards infrastructure investment which focuses on the delivery of projects within the existing pipeline and building the world-class infrastructure of the future," she said.

Research by the CECA reveals for each £1 billion increase in infrastructure investment, UK-wide GDP rises by nearly £1.3 billion.

However Ms Hemming said the construction industry is slowing down just as the UK needs it to speed up.

She said: "Government must act quickly to avoid a slowdown in growth, which will be bad news for our sector and for the economy as a whole."

(LM/CD)