Abbey National and Northern Rock are the latest in a string of major UK lenders to raise their home loan rates.

Both are increasing their standard variable rate by 0.25%.

The moves come after the Bank of England raised base lending rates by 0.25% to 5.75% on Thursday.

Halifax, Nationwide and Cheltenham & Gloucester all raised their variable rates by the same amount on Friday.

Abbey said borrowers with mortgages of up to £60,000 would now be charged interest at 7.49%, from £60,000 to £99,999 at 7.44% and mortgages of £100,000 and above, 7.39%

And Northern Rock announced its variable rate will rise from 7.29% to 7.54% a year.

Savers' rates

The Abbey's increase will add an extra £10.96 a month to the average borrower's repayments on a £60,000 interest-only home loan.

The Bank of England raised the cost of borrowing partly to cool down the property market.

But lenders have been criticised for being quick to pass the rate rises to borrowers and slow to pass them on to savers.

Abbey said it would raise rates for savers at the same time as for borrowers - 1 February. But it did not say by how much the savers' rates would rise.

The government is preparing to announce whether it will introduce legislation on mortgage lenders.