Confidence in Scotland's construction industry has reached its highest level since the economic crash of 2008, a new survey has revealed.

For the first time ever, the Scottish Construction Monitor found that more than half of firms were more confident about their future for the coming year.

A total of 51.6% of the companies questioned in the first three months of this year said they were more confident about their prospects for this next 12 months compared with the previous year - an increase of more than 10 points from the previous quarter when it was 41.1%.

At the same time, the number of firms who were less confident about their future prospects fell from 25% in the last three months of 2013 to 17.7% in the first quarter of this year.

Some 600 construction firms from Orkney to the Borders were questioned for the survey.

The latest research put the overall level of confidence in the industry at +20 points, which equates to the third quarter in a row of positive confidence levels.

The report said: "Following a nine-point decline in industry confidence last quarter, confidence has rebounded by 11 points to stand at its highest rating since the Construction Monitor began in 2008."