Consumer confidence increased last month after three successive months of decline, according to research from Nationwide.

The building society's consumer confidence index rose to 61 in August from a 14-month low of 56 in July, recovering to a similar level to August 2009. However, the index remains well below the average of 83 and February's two-year high of 84.

The rise was driven by an improvement in people's expectations of the state of the economy and employment market going forward.

"August proved to be a positive month for consumer confidence following an otherwise turbulent year for the index," said Nationwide's head of economic analysis Mark Saddleton.

"While the indicators suggest that the outlook may be starting to look at little brighter, faith in the present situation remains at a low level."

Britain's economy grew by 1.2% the second quarter, twice as fast as had expected. However, growth is expected to slow to in the third quarter as the government's comprehensive public spending cuts start to bite.