THE UK is in line for a slow and painful recovery as the economy “bumps along the bottom” for 18 months, experts are warning.

Britain may be set to see the back of recession soon, but its recovery will be hampered by ongoing lending restrictions, world economy uncertainties and the planned withdrawal of Government support, according to the influential Ernst & Young Item Club. Its autumn report cautions that GDP will at best grow by 1% next year.

The sobering forecast comes despite hopes that Friday’s eagerly-awaited figures on national output between July and September will reveal the UK recession finally at an end.

The economy has not grown since the first quarter of 2008, but commentators are looking for a modest expansion in the third quarter as the UK pulls out of its headlong dive.

Consensus forecasts have pencilled in a 0.2% rise for July to September in the Office for National Statistics’ first estimate of output.

However, the Item Club report predicts an “anaemic” recovery next year, with a less than smooth path for a return to sustainable growth.