LONDON - British consumer credit growth accelerated in June to its fastest pace since May 2019, up 6.5% on the year, but the number of mortgages approved for house purchase fell to the lowest since June 2020, Bank of England data showed on Friday.

Net consumer credit rose by 1.781 billion pounds ($2.17 billion), above all forecasts in a Reuters poll of economists, following a 903 million-pound increase in May.

Mortgage approvals totalled 63,726 in June, down from a downwardly revised 65,681 in May and below forecasts of a drop to 65,000 in the Reuters poll.

($1 = 0.8222 pounds)

(Reporting by David Milliken Editing by William Schomberg)