UK retail sales rose by 0.9% in April compared to March, according to official figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

This sales increase is almost double analyst expectations, and backs up recently released figures by the British Retail Consortium (BRC) that also showed that sales have risen in this sector.

"This official data confirms our own findings that April's retail sales were well up on a year ago. Our Retail Sales Monitor showed this growth was driven by food, clothing and footwear sales – which is the same picture painted by the ONS," said BRC Director General Stephen Robertson.