British consumers shrugged off foot and mouth disease and falling stock markets last month to help the country record better than expected high street spending figures.

Ironically, the strongest sales growth was recorded in leather goods and footwear, with 84% of retailers surveyed saying that sales were significantly up compared with April 2000. Retailers of groceries, hardware, household goods and pharmaceuticals also reported buoyant sales. Specialist food stores were one of only a few sectors to report a fall-off in spending.

Share this story: