The UK has officially avoided a recession after the latest GDP figures revealed that the economy grew in the third quarter of the year.

Official figures released this morning by the Office for National Statistics showed 0.3 per cent growth for the three months to September.

That was in contrast for the three months to June that showed a contraction of 0.2 per cent prompting fears of a recession.

A recession occurs when there are two successive quarters of negative growth.

In a statement this morning, the ONS said: "GDP grew steadily in the third quarter, mainly thanks to a strong July.

"Services again led the way with construction also performing well. Manufacturing failed to grow as falls in many industries were offset by car production bouncing back following April shutdowns."

However, the latest figures are not all good news, with year-on-year figures now showing the slowest growth in nearly a decade.

Third quarter growth was just one percent, the lowest rate since 2010.

The statement added: "Looking at the picture over the last year, growth slowed to its lowest rate in almost a decade.

"The underlying trade deficit narrowed, mainly due to growing exports of both goods and services."