Britain leans on consumers as mortgage approvals, loans surge

By Andy Bruce and William Schomberg LONDON (Reuters) - British mortgage approvals surged by the most in six years in April and lending to individuals also rose sharply, underlining the clout of the country's consumers but also its reliance on them to drive the economy. Tuesday's data from the Bank of England supported expectations that the pace of the broader economic recovery will pick up again by mid-year after slowing at the start of 2015, giving a nudge to a long-running debate abo