The number of new mortgages approved by the main banks for house purchase grew slightly in October, according to figures releases by the British Bankers' Association (BBA).

The BBA's figures reveal that new mortgages approved by banks rose from 42,073 in September to 42,238 last month. The figures reflect the gradual improvement in the property market over the last six months.

"The longer it takes to emerge from recession, the longer we will see households and businesses continue to borrow with caution. The banks' mortgage lending, still growing by more than 4% a year, shows one aspect of consumer behaviour but unsecured borrowing is subdued and people are building up deposits," said David Dooks, statistics director of the BAA.