The number of people taking out mortgages in the UK fell in February for the first time in a year, according to the latest Bank of England figures.

There were 70,309 mortgage approvals in February, down from January when 76,753 loans were approved. The January figure was the highest since November 2007, whereas the February figure is the lowest since last October.

The BoE said January’s figure had been “erratically high” and the fall did not indicate a slowdown.

Despite the monthly drop of over 6,000, the number of approvals was nevertheless up by more than 33% on February 2013.

In separate research, bulk conveyancer myhomemove said that most mortgage borrowers were still showing caution, putting down an average deposit of 27.68%.