UK retail sales in April increased by 4.6% compared to the same month a year ago, according to figures released by the British Retail Consortium (BRC).

The rise in sales has been attributed to the good weather in April encouraging consumers to leave their homes and make purchases.

"Over the last three months sales have gone up by about 2%, but that is below inflation. What we're seeing is a real polarisation: food has romped away, whereas non-food, except for the last month, has been dropping every month [this year]," said Mr Robertson, director of the BRC.