'Lower pay but more benefits' in the 1970s

People who started work in the 1970s have earned less than those who started in the 1990s, according to new official figures from the Office for National Statistics.

It has been collecting employment details of employees who started work in the mid-1970s, 80s and 90s, and measured what they earned from the age of 21 to 39.

They found that the wages of workers who started in the 1970s were 40% lower than those who started earning in the 1990s - even when the cost of living is taken into account.

However, the younger workers are likely to have worse pensions and have struggled more to buy their own home.

Ian Skinner, 57, who works in rural development for Bridgend council, told his 40-year-old colleague Mark Blackmore about the other benefits he enjoyed in the 1970s.