Ethical UK investments topped £10 billion for the first time last year, new figures reveal today.

According to a report by Co-operative Financial Services , £10.6 billion was invested in ethical investments or deposited in ethical banks in 2004.

These investments represent a growth of 18 per cent from the year before, and the accelerated growth bodes well for the UK investment market, experts say. It took the market 15 years to break the £5 billion barrier, but it reached double that mark in five years. According to David Anderson, chief executive of Co-operative Financial Services, breaking through the £10 billion barrier is a major milestone for the UK's socially responsible investments sector. He said it underlines how UK consumers are increasingly thinking about how they can have influence as ethical investors.

According to the Ethical Purchasing Index, due to be published later this year, a total of £5.5 billion was invested in ethically screened funds. Deposits totalling £5.1 billion was made into ethical banks and credit unions.

In 2003, the Index found that total ethical consumerism was worth a total of almost £25 billion to the UK economy. This represented a 16 per cent growth from the previous year.