There has been a rise in the number of mortgages approved for house purchases in the UK for the first time in one year, the Bank of England has said.

In September 33,000 home loans were approved, showing a rise of 1,000 compared with the record low of August, said the BOE.

Nonetheless, mortgage lending was still considered below the average of six months ago.

This is in spite of the recent bank rate cuts and bailouts that homeowners had hoped would loosen the squeeze on mortgage lending a bit.

August is traditionally considered the quietest month in terms of house sales and reports said the month’s figures revealed that the UK’s mortgage debt figures fell for the first time since records began in 1993.

A review of the figures even showed that the fall had been sharper than it was reported.

In September, however, the mortgage approvals figures rose up for the first time since 2007.