Britain's economy shrank 0.5% in the three months to September, marking the first quarterly contraction since 1992, according to unrevised official data today.
The economy had already shown a flat performance in the second quarter with zero growth, added the Office for National Statistics in a statement.
The data means that Britain remains on the verge of recession - which is defined as two quarters of negative economic growth in a row.
Meanwhile, separate figures show that UK consumer spending saw its sharpest decline for 13 years between July and September.
Household spending fell 0.2% on the previous quarter, the biggest drop since the beginning of 1995, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Overall national output fell 0.5% during the third quarter of 2008, unchanged from the ONS's first estimate in October.
