The monthly KPMG-British Retail Consortium (BRC) Retail Sales Monitor for June showed that retail sales rose by 3% in June on a like-for-lilke basis compared to June last year, when they increased by 2.3%.

However, the rate of growth only grew by 2.5% in the second quarter of the year, compared to 3.5% on the first three months of 2007.

The "exceptional" weather seen this June and 12 months earlier was blamed for distorting the figures. Although the rain affected sales of clothing, footwear, DIY and gardening products, it did boost footfall in department stores.