British savers put over £20bn into cash savings in October, the highest deposits ever seen outside of the Coronavirus pandemic.

The majority, £14.4bn, was deposited in easy-access accounts, the highest amount for three and a half years, according to the latest data from the Bank of England.

A total of £1.5bn was deposited in cash ISA accounts.

Laura Suter, director of personal finance at SIPP and platform provider AJ Bell, said some of the boom in cash savings was likely to be attributable to uncertainty around the Budget and tax changes.

She said: “Some of this boom in cash savings will be the continuing trend we’ve seen of people wanting to build up a cushion to protect their finances, or build up a pot to pay off a chunk of their mortgage when it comes up for renewal.

“But it’s likely that the uncertainty around the Budget and potential tax changes sparked nervousness among investors and savers, leading to the rush to cash. Investors who were nervous about the impact on markets of Rachel Reeves’ first Budget may have opted to sit it out in cash. At the same time, we saw nervousness around potential tax rises meant that some people realised gains on investments or took larger withdrawals from their pensions.”

Questions about taking pension tax-free cash (33%) were the most common enquiries seen by financial advisers in the run up to the Budget in October, according to research by AJ Bell.

A separate survey from trading platform Hargreaves Lansdown found that 19% of people were planning to open a cash ISA, with 18% planning to put money into a stocks and shares ISA ahead of the Budget.

A further 16% said they were planning on drawing tax free cash from their pension ahead of the Budget, pushed by fears that the Budget could impose a limit on tax-free cash.