LONDON (REUTERS) - British voters' approval of Prime Minister Theresa May's handling of Brexit negotiations has risen for the first time in five months, the ORB International pollster said on Monday (Oct 8).

Approval of May's handling of Brexit talks rose as high as 47 per cent in the first half of 2017 but has since fallen as the government struggles to strike a deal on Britain's future relationship with the European Union.

According to the poll of around 2,000 adults, 29 per cent of voters were confident May would get the right deal, up from 22 per cent last month, while 53 per cent thought she would not get the right deal and the rest did not know.

May, tasked with delivering Britain's exit from the European Union after a 2016 referendum which continues to divide the country, must find a way through deadlocked talks in Brussels and then convince a sceptical parliament to back the outcome.

The European Union's Brexit negotiators believe a divorce deal with Britain is close, diplomatic sources said last week, in a sign a compromise on the most contentious issue - the future Irish border - might be in the making though details were scarce.