The UK economy emerged from recession in the three months from July to September, giving retailers a glimpse of hope that consumer sentiment is climbing.

The economy grew by 1%, according to official gross domestic product figures (GDP). The Olympics provided a fillip, adding 0.2 percentage points to the figures, said the Office for National Statistics.

All Olympic and Paralympic ticket sales counted towards July to September’s GDP figure.

The economy had been in recession for the previous nine months and still not recovered the levels of output seen before the financial crisis in 2008.