Tradesmen travelling 60 miles to work

Self-employed tradesmen and women are having to travel up to 60 miles a day to find work, costing them a “fortune” as fuel costs rocket to record levels, according to a new report.

A study by business network BeLocal showed that bricklayers, glaziers and other workers make round trips of up to 60 miles, costing them an estimated £47 a day or around £11,000 a year.

One in five of the 200 tradesmen and women questioned for the report pass on the cost of fuel to customers.

Simon Grice, founder of BeLocal, said: “We all know from sitting in traffic in the morning, that tradespeople do go that extra mile for work. It’s quite common to see an unfamiliar dialling code on a van in your area. This research now shows the problem is only going to get worse.”