The British High Street had its most successful December for five years, damping any prospect of further interest rate cuts.

Data from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) showed retail sales grew by six per cent in December on a like-for-like basis, against the same period last year.

The figure for November was slightly lower at 5.8 per cent.

BRC said although Christmas trading started slowly, overall there was strong sales growth in all areas - in particular from food and drink retailers in the final three days before Christmas.

Clothing and footwear shops also had a good month, which BRC said was possibly due to the cold weather.

Mobile phone sales had a very disappointing month, due to the change in the market for the products. Sales of DVDs and wide-screen TVs were good.

BRC said the winter sales appeared to have got off to a solid start with consumers continuing to look for big discounts and value for money.

Director general Bill Moyes said: "December's figures reflect the fact, despite the economic gloom and events of the last half of the year, the UK consumer was determined to have a good Christmas.

"These strong figures are a good end to a year in which the retail sector has been the one stable driver of growth in the UK economy.

"We hope 2002 will be a year in which the sector can sustain stable growth, ensuring it is able to continue to create new jobs and investment opportunities."

Sales growth had now been stable since June, which was the longest period of such stability since the survey's results were first prepared at the end of 1995.