The increase in total net lending to individuals was greater in April than in the previous month, figures have revealed.

In April, the increase totalled £1.3 billion, the Bank of England statistics showed, with the rise being £0.7 billion in March.

Nonetheless, the 12-month growth rate continued on the downward spiral, falling by 0.3 percentage points to 1.8 per cent.

Commenting on the results, head of member and external relations at the Council of Mortgage Lenders Sue Anderson said approvals are likely to rise in the future, although this should be approached with caution.

"There isn’t any realistic prospect of them bouncing back dramatically any time soon because lending is still constrained and consumer appetite is still somewhat constrained," she added.

The Bank revealed that the number of loans approved for house purchases was higher in April than in March and the previous six-month average.

Having said this, 31,800 approvals for remortgaging were made and 27,916 for other purposes, revealing a decrease on earlier figures.