by business editor Trevor Sturgess

Easter sunshine and the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton sent people back to the shops in April.

But retailers are wary of celebrating too soon, with British Retail Consortium boss Stephen Robertson saying that dismal March figures and better April sales largely cancelled each other out.

"Considered together, the results for March and April largely cancel each other out and the overall trend is flat," he said.

"The underlying pressures on the retail sector of climbing costs and depressed consumer spending will be problems for many months to come."

Like-for-like retail sales values were up 5.2 per cent on the same month a year ago when only Easter Sunday and Monday fell into the April trading period.

This year all of Easter was in April's trading period. Including store openings, sales were up 6.9 per cent.

Food, clothing and footwear all enjoyed sales growth, as did outdoor DIY and leisure.

But indoor products suffered, with big-ticket items hardest hit amid continued consumer uncertainty about job and income prospects.

Internet, mail-order and phone sales picked up.

Mr Robertson said: "Easter and the Royal Wedding bank holiday provided a badly needed boost to many retailers during April.

"Food sales were strong leading up to Good Friday, suggesting most families prioritised their spending on the Easter celebrations.

"The hottest April since records began got people out spending on summer clothing and footwear."