The rate of inflation hit an equal 40-year high of 10.1 per cent in September as soaring food prices forced up the cost of living.
The Consumer Prices Index - the headline measure of inflation - rose from 9.9 per cent to 10.1 per cent, the same level it reached in July and the joint highest level since 1982. Prices rose by 0.5 per cent during September, according to the office for National Statistics (ONS).