Consumers are being hit by a rise in the cost of living as inflation leaped to a nearly two-year high of 1% in September.

The latest inflation rate, which tracks the fluctuations in price for a range of everyday goods, was pushed upwards by rising costs for goods including petrol, clothing and shoes.

However economists said there was "no explicit evidence" that it had made the sharp jump upwards as a result of the vote for Brexit.

It comes after the value of the pound fell by nearly 20% against the US dollar since Britain voted to leave the European Union.

Inflation jumped from 0.6% in August, according to data from the Office for National Statistics.

It exceeded the 0.9% expected by economists and is the also the highest rate since November 2014, when it was also 1%.

The main upward contributors to change in the rate were rising prices for clothing, overnight hotel stays and motor fuels, the ONS said.

Petrol prices climbed by 1.2 pence per litre month-on-month to 111.2 pence, while diesel prices increased by 1.5 pence per litre to 113.3 pence over the period.

These upward pressures were partially offset by a fall in air fares and food prices, it added.

Food prices helped pull back any further rise with a drop of 0.3% between August and September as major supermarkets take part in a "price war" for customers.

Meanwhile, the Retail Prices Index (RPI) - a separate measure of inflation, which includes housing costs - rose to 2% in September, up from 1.8% in August.

Mike Prestwood, head of inflation at the ONS, said that inflation "remained low by historic standards".