Fears that the UK housing downturn is gaining momentum will deepen after data showing that mortgage approvals by banks slid to a new record low last month.

The British Bankers Association said on Tuesday that numbers of loans approved for house purchase fell from a downwardly revised 34,752 in April to 27,968 per cent in May, 56.1 per cent lower than in May 2007 and by far the lowest since the data began in 1997.