Homeowners should be braced for an imminent increase in interest rates following the publication of the minutes of the last meeting of the Bank of England's monetary policy committee.

The report, released on Wednesday, revealed that nearly half of the committee's members backed a quarter point increase at this month's meeting.

Rates are currently at a 48-year low of 3.5 per cent and the committee fears consumers are cashing in on cheap debt at unsustainable levels.

Meanwhile a report from NTC Research has predicted a significant boost to the economy in the first half of next year.