Hopes of a decent Christmas on the London High Street rose today after shop sales grew at their fastest rate for three years in November.

Figures from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) showed that sales last month in the capital were 13.3% higher than in November last year.

Analysts said the figures were a good sign for Christmas but added it was too early to get carried away given just how bad things were last November. Sales fell off a cliff after Lehman Brothers collapsed in September 2008.

They also said tax rises announced in the Pre-Budget Report last week would hit confidence.

Stephen Robertson, director general of the BRC, said: "These are great figures - the best sales growth for three years. Remember that this strong growth is compared with sales falls a year ago and many retailers are using promotional events and price cuts to get customers spending, but these figures show London retailers have had a very encouraging start to Christmas with even big ticket items doing well.

"The weak pound continues to make London attractive to overseas visitors and November's record rain brought shoppers in from the suburbs, helping central London department stores in particular.

"Retailers will be hoping customers remain as resilient into the New Year. There are big uncertainties out there and we have yet to see the effect on sales of tough measures in the Pre-Budget Report."