UK on recession alert after big falls in factory output and house prices

Signs of distress from very different parts of economy will add to Bank of England's dilemma over interest rates

Policymakers in the UK have been put on recession high alert after surging interest rates triggered a slump in factory output and the biggest annual drop in house prices since the global financial crisis of the late 2000s.

Amid growing evidence that the 14 successive increases in the Bank of England base rate have been slowing the economy, the monthly health checks of manufacturing and the property market both pointed to a tough winter ahead.