Consumer prices in Britain shot up three per cent in April compared with a year earlier, propelled by rising prices for home gas, electricity and heating oil, the government said Tuesday.

The inflation rate, which was 2.5 per cent in March, is now a full point above the government's target. The retail price index rose to 4.2 per cent, compared with 3.8 per cent in March, the Office for National Statistics said.

Retail prices, excluding mortgage interest payments, rose 4.0 per cent, compared with 3.5 per cent in March. Inflation rose to 4.2 per cent in April, up from 3.8 per cent in March.

The British Retail Consortium reported that retail sales in April fell 1.5 per cent below the same month last year. Tuesday's report was the second downbeat monthly result, following a 1.6 per cent drop in March.

The consortium said clothing and footwear sales were hardest hit, but it did not release comparative figures.