The civil nuclear industry employs almost 16,000 people in Cumbria, according to a new study.

Trade body the Nuclear Industry Association (NIA) has just published the 2017 version of its annual 'job map', which shows where each of the 65,000 people in the UK's sector is employed.

The organisation has also said that new build projects - such as the £10bn proposal for a power plant in Moorside, near Sellafield - have the potential to double the number of jobs in the industry.

These comments have come ahead of a conference on nuclear new builds, which the NIA is running and begins today in London. There will be presentations about the NuGen's plans for a west Cumbrian plant, tomorrow.

The job map is broken down into parliamentary constituency.

Most Cumbrian nuclear employees - 14,707 - are based in Trudy Harrison's Copeland seat. This is followed by Workington with 426, Carlisle with 301, Barrow with 261, Westmorland and South Lakeland with six and Penrith and the Border with one.

The NIA has estimated that combined, the Hinkley Point C development in Somerset, Wylfa Newydd in Wales and Moorside new build projects could create more than 50,000 job opportunities during construction, with at least 3,000 permanent roles spread across the three sites once operational.

It has predicted that Moorside will create 20,000 during construction.

Tom Greatrex, chief executive of the NIA, said: “Construction began at Hinkley earlier this year and already there are over 1,500 people currently working on site. With 25,000 job opportunities due to be created by this one project alone, the economic benefits of a comprehensive 18GW new build programme will be enormous.

“We know new nuclear will help ensure the lowest-cost route to decarbonisation, generating the reliable, round the clock, low carbon electricity the UK needs.

“We also know it will create thousands of high-skilled, well paid jobs in areas of the country where jobs are often hard to come by."

The NIA has more than 260 members in the supply chain.