BRITAIN is more reliant on coal for its electricity than it has been at any time over the past decade, according to government figures.

The amount of coal consumed by UK power stations increased last year to the highest level since 1996, as record gas prices forced electricity suppliers to find other sources of power.

This pushed up Britain's carbon dioxide emissions to their highest in 10 years, figures from the Department for Trade and Industry (DTI) show. They also help explain why ministers tried to lower targets for cuts to carbon emissions.

The government research, which has been quietly released on the DTI website, also shows that domestic coal production plunged by 18pc last year.

Imports of the carboniferous fuel "were 21pc higher at a new record level and generators' demand for coal was up 3pc''.

According to the DTI report "deep mined production fell to a record low of 9.5m tonnes, while opencast coal production was at its lowest level since 1975 and 13pc lower than in 2004. Ellington mine closed due to flooding, leaving only eight major deep mines.''

Stubbornly high oil and gas prices over the past year have meant that coal, which is a more inefficient source of energy, is once again a viable option for generators.

According to the DTI's numbers, power generators burnt 32.7m tonnes of coal last year, measured in terms of its oil-equivalent weight. This compares with 31.3m tonnes in 2004 and a record low of 25.5m tonnes in 1999.

Because coal is a more polluting fuel than other sources, the UK's carbon emissions rose by half a million tonnes last year to 157.4m tonnes, the highest since 1996.

Even after accounting for newly-planted forests, which reduce CO2 levels, net emissions were the highest since 2000.