Anthony 
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Roof thatchers in the South West have said they have a backlog of at least two years' work, partly due to a shortage of people wanting to work in the trade.
They say the short-supply of straw and several seasons of bad weather have made it harder to keep up with the demand for thatching.
The Devon and Cornwall Master Thatcher Association said fewer young people were making inquiries about learning the trade.
Master thatcher Tony Jackson said: "We used to get 12 to 15 applications of people wanting to be apprentices but in the last six years we've had three or four, it's dropped right off."
