The value of mortgages granted in December rose slightly, according to figures from the British Bankers'' Association (BBA).

Borrowers took out £16.5 billion worth of loans over the month, up on the £16.1 billion they borrowed in November.

Some 42,088 took out a mortgage to buy a home, while 62,771 were re-mortgaging their property.

However, David Dooks, the BBA''s statistics director, commented that over the last half of the year, "mortgage lending weakened notably".

Economic forecasting firm Global Insight warned that people looking to buy a home or move house are being affected by the fact that "lenders have become much more careful about whom they lend to, and on what terms".

It said that the findings add "to the already intense pressure on the Bank of England to cut interest rates in February, and to enact significant further reductions thereafter".

Some finance experts have speculated that the Bank will cut rates when they meet in February following the decision of the US Federal Reserve to slash interest rates by 0.75 per cent earlier this week.