More mortgages were handed out to first-time buyers in June than in any other month since 2007, banks and building societies have reported.

People taking their first step on the property ladder took out 34,300 loans for house purchase in June with a total value of £5.5 billion - a 24% leap in the number of loans compared with May and 17% more than June 2015.

The report from the Council of Mortgage Lenders shows the June figure is the highest for first-time buyer lending since 35,300 loans were handed out in August 2007.

Existing home-owners moving house took out 33,900 loans in June, up 28% on May and 0.3% on the same month in 2015.

June was the third month running that the number of first-time buyer loans handed out was running at a higher level than the number of home-mover mortgages. This trend had not been seen previously for 20 years.

The cut in the Bank of England base rate to 0.25% last week could mean some first-time buyers find they can get cheaper mortgage deals in the coming months, although experts have also warned that low savings returns will make it harder for aspiring first-time buyers to build a deposit.

The CML's figures mostly reflect the housing market in the run-up to the referendum, with the vote taking place on June 23.

They also show that lending to buy-to-let landlords showed signs of recovering in June, after a three percentage point stamp duty hike for this sector was imposed on April 1.

Some 6,000 loans were handed out to those purchasing buy-to-let properties in June, marking a 33% jump compared with May, but still 42% lower than June 2015.

By Vicky Shaw, Press Association