British consumer price inflation hit a 40-year high of 9.1% in May - with food and drink prices up 8.6% - and the Bank of England expects the annual CPI rate to exceed 11% in October when a 40% rise in regulated energy tariffs will hit.

Friday's figures from the Office for National Statistics showed that 49% of people said they had bought less food than normal between June 22 and July 3, up from just 8% when the survey began in September 2021.

Another 48% said they had needed to spend more than usual on their food shopping. Overall, 91% of people said their cost of living had risen over the past month.

These figures match reports from British supermarkets that shoppers are under increasing financial pressure.

Sainsbury's (SBRY.L) reported a 4% drop in underlying quarterly sales on Tuesday and Tesco, Britain's biggest supermarket, said customers were making smaller, more frequent shopping trips and buying cheaper own-brand items.

U.S. bank Citi forecast last month that British food price inflation would exceed 20% by early next year.