The British Bankers Association (BBA) has revealed that the number of approved home loans in December was double that in the same month in 2008, the Times reports.

The BBA found that there were 45,897 successful mortgage applications in December, which represents a slight rise on the November figures.

However, the latest numbers for December are equivalent to a 102.2 per cent rise from 12 months previous.

David Dooks, the statistics director of the BBA, explained that despite the depressed state of the mortgage market, high street banks were still willing to lend significant amounts last month.

He added: Their share of gross lending went up from a historical level of about two-thirds to three-quarters, due to specialist lenders largely withdrawing from the market and building society finance contracting.

Meanwhile, a recent report by the Council of Mortgage Lenders revealed that the amount of income Britons are spending to repay home loans is at a five-year low.