Football's World Cup is thought to have given a boost to UK beer sales, industry figures suggest.

The equivalent of more than 2.2 billion pints was sold between April and June - up 2.9% on last year, the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) said.

This meant quarterly sales were up on 12 months ago for the first time in four years.

Growth was driven by demand at shops and supermarkets, up 4.4%. But sales in Britain's pubs fell by 6.3%.

The UK Quarterly Beer Barometer suggested good weather as well as the World Cup tournament in South Africa, which saw England exit in the last 16, helped bring the best sales in the April to June period since the fourth quarter of 2008. This was also the first quarterly rise since 2006.

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