Boffins say Brits have been ingesting an excessive amount of as a result of heatwave and World Cup

Experts think we’ve gone from spending in shops to “drinking in the pub” as England and Scotland played in the World Cup – and it could have harmed the economy

Experts have warned Britain’s economic growth has suffered because we’ve been enjoying beers during the World Cup and heatwaves – and not spending in shops.

Economists are expecting gross domestic product (GDP) – a measure of how much the UK economy produces – to not grow in July when the Office for National Statistics (ONS) releases its next dataset on Friday. They believe punters swapped spending in shops for drinking in pubs amid the heatwaves and England and Scotland’s appearances at the World Cup.

Elliott Jordan-Doak, an analyst for Pantheon Macroeconomics, said any decline was “more likely the result of consumers shifting spending to drinking in the pub than a sign of weakening in consumer spending growth”.

The figures would suggest households have changed spending habits, and not cut back even as energy bills are set to rise again. The statistics will come as a blow to new Prime Minister Andy Burnham, who moved into Downing Street that month.

His Chancellor, John Healey, insisted that there was an “optimistic story” about the UK economy that was “turning a corner” only a few days ago. His comments came after June’s GDP numbers suggested the UK economy grew 0.3 percent as hospitality and leisure firms received a boost from football fever and the prolonged hot weather.

However, economists have predicted that activity was muted in July as other parts of the economy lagged, offsetting the continued World Cup and hot weather boost to hospitality. In particular, retail and wholesale activity is predicted to have dipped by 0.3 percent for the month.

Analysts for Investec said: “After a positive first half of the year, where the UK economy actually outperformed the rest of the G7, growing by 1 percent, we expect the third quarter will begin with a weaker performance.

“Some evidence of this has already been seen in soft retail sales for the month, whilst we expect the rise in household utility bills due to the 13 percent uplift to the energy price cap would have had a dampening effect.”

Economists for Deutsche Bank said they were expecting the economy to “slow from its current torrid pace of growth”.

“The real income shock from the Middle East has yet to fully filter through the data,” they said. “One-offs that have buoyed the economy will also likely unwind. And some budget uncertainty could put households and businesses off from spending.”