Net personal loan lending fell during September 2009, according to a data from the Bank of England (BoE).

Figures from the institution showed that overall consumer credit borrowing declined by £262m last month.

This total includes a £79m increase in net credit card lending and a £341m decline in lending for personal loans and other advances.

Overall, the report suggests that Brits were prioritising repayments of their existing unsecured loans rather than taking out additional credit.

This attitude could also have become more prevalent as a result of the credit crunch and recession, which has led to rising unemployment levels and increased insecurity over personal incomes.

However, the BoE's statistics also showed that an apparent housing market recovery was helping to increase customer demand for mortgage lending.

The number of home purchase loan approvals increased from 52,970 in August to 56,215 in September.

Adrian Coles, director-general of the Building Societies Association, said: "Lending activity has recovered in recent months, when compared to the start of the year, as buyers and sellers tentatively return to the market."