UK economic growth accelerated to 0.7 percent in the second quarter of the year, according to the first official estimate.

The UK's Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the growth meant that GDP (gross domestic product) per head was now back to its pre-crisis peak in 2008.

The performance was driven by growth in the dominant service sector - supported by higher wage growth among consumers and low inflation.

There was no revision to first quarter output of 0.4 percent, with the UK economy growing in line with economists' forecasts of 2.6 percent on an annual basis.

A 1 percent leap in second quarter industrial production - the biggest since 2010 - was down to a surge in oil and gas production, the ONS said.

It measured a 7.8 percent rise in extraction, which it believed was a result of Government tax cuts to support the industry amid falling prices and rising costs.

The increase in North Sea output was the largest since 1989, the ONS said.

Factory output fell 0.3 percent as weak demand in Europe hit export orders while construction was flat on the previous quarter, while agriculture shrank by 0.7 percent.

ONS chief economist Joe Grice said: "After a slowdown in the first quarter of 2015, overall GDP growth has returned to that typical of the previous two years."

He told Sky News that the explosion in oil and gas production contributed 0.2 percent to the overall GDP growth for the three months.

"The industry sources tell us that may have something to do with the aftermath of the Budget and some of the tax changes then.

"Certainly, an enormous increase in North Sea oil production. Whether that's sustainable or not that's another question.

"If you take out the North Sea effect, growth would have been about 0.5 percent."

The Chancellor George Osborne urged caution while giving his reaction.

He said: "These figures today show Britain is motoring ahead with our economy producing as much per person as ever before.

"But there are clear risks out there in the world economy from the eurozone to what's happening in the world's stock markets, and so it's vital that we stay on the road that we've set out on."

 

Reporting provided by IRN