UK retail sales fell by 1.8% between December and January, according to data released by the Office for National Statistics.

This decline is the sharpest drop in 18 months as the reduction in sales volumes in the month after the Christmas period was more than three times faster than analysts had forecast.

However, the figures were weighed down by the inclusion of petrol in the official figures for the first time as drivers stayed at home in the snow.

"Of course, we knew the January sales figures would be bad after the VAT rise and bad weather. But the drop is even worse than the retail surveys had suggested," said Jonathan Loynes, chief European economist at Capital Economics.