HAULAGE companies in the North-East are having difficulties recruiting drivers, according to figures.

A third of companies said the problem was getting worse, figures from the Freight Transport Association revealed.

Malcolm Dodds, North-East area manager of the Road Haulage Association, said: "It's difficult to pinpoint why, but people are going out of the industry and taking up other jobs.

"Conditions in the industry now are a lot better than they were five or ten years ago, but it's still difficult to attract new people and to hold onto the ones we've got."