Reuters reports that British mortgage approvals slumped to the lowest on record in April and consumers ramped up repayment of loans as the country spent the month in the coronavirus lockdown, Bank of England data showed on Tuesday.

The number of mortgage approvals fell to 15,848 - the lowest since comparable records began in October 1997 - down from 56,136 in March which was already sharply lower than in previous months.

Consumer credit figures showed a net repayment of 7.399 billion pounds, the biggest such repayment on record.