Britons are building less houses it seems, with the numbers showing a 5% fall in the last three months.

Official house building statistics say an estimated 18,100 projects were started in July across Great Britain, against only 16,400 in the same month last year.

But this followed a dip in building during June when Jubilee celebrations and the World Cup put projects on hold.

Housebuilding over the last three months, a more reliable measure of the market, is down 5% for new builds.

However, the number of houses that were completed has risen 5% in the last three months.

The figures cover Britain as a whole, but hide a bigger dip in house building in England.

Over the last three months, starts to house builds fell by 16% and the number is down 9% on the same period a year ago.