Food prices in the United Kingdom continued to surge at the fastest rate in nearly 45 years in April as inflation fell at a slower pace than expected.

The rate at which grocery prices rose slowed marginally in the year to April, but at 19.1% is close to historic highs.

Food prices rose, as the overall UK inflation rate fell sharply to hit single figures for the first time since last August.

According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), prices rose by 8.7% in the year to April, which is down from 10.1% in March but above the 8.2% figure widely forecast by analysts.

The drop is due to the fact that energy price rises are slowing from the extreme hikes seen a year ago just after Russia, a major oil and gas producer, invaded Ukraine and was hit with sanctions.

The ONS said some vegetables were more expensive than a year ago, including potatoes.

However, it said that while food price inflation was still close to its recent peak, the price of staples like bread, cereal, fish, milk and eggs had fallen.

"If you look at what prices businesses are facing and how much they're paying for domestic food materials, that has come down from over 15% annually last month to under 10% this month," ONS chief economist Grant Fitzner said.

The prices that companies are paying for imported foods have also fallen "considerably".

However, he said: "Of course, those aren't reflected on supermarket shelves yet."