Sainsbury's was the only one of Britain's big four supermarkets to grow sales in the last three months - but still saw its number two spot in the sector retaken by Asda, according to latest industry data.

Sales at Sainsbury's rose 0.1 per cent compared to last year in the 12 weeks to August 16, although this was behind the wider sector's growth of 0.9 per cent, with the pace set by discounters Aldi and Lidl.

The continued advance of the German-owned stores saw their market shares rise to 5.6 per cent and 4.1 per cent in the period, together accounting for nearly £1 in every £10 spent in the British grocery market, according to data from Kantar Worldpanel.

Asda, which has swapped second and third places with Sainsbury's in recent months, saw total sales fall 2.5 per cent as its market share shrank to 16.6 per cent, 0.6 per cent lower than last year.

It comes after the Leeds-based grocer reported earlier this month that it had hit a "nadir" with a worst-ever quarterly like-for-like sales fall of 4.7 per cent over the 11 weeks to June 30.

In the latest Kantar data, Sainsbury's sales growth was its first since March, but its market share was 0.1 per cent lower at 16.4 per cent.

Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar Worldpanel, said Asda's greater focus on non-food items meant its share was traditionally higher in the summer and Sainsbury's should regain the number two spot around Christmas.

Tesco, Britain's biggest supermarket, saw sales fall 0.9 per cent as its market share fell by 0.5 per cent to 28.3 per cent.

The Kantar report said buoyant growth in its convenience stores and online had not been enough to offset lower revenues.

Sales at Bradford-based Morrisons slipped 1.1 per cent as its portion of the sector dipped by 0.2 per cent to 10.8 per cent. Kantar said it reflected a tough comparison with last year when a widespread voucher promotion was in place.

Elsewhere, Iceland's attempts to create a more premium image for frozen food helped sales rise 3.4 per cent, while at Waitrose, a "Pick Your Own Offers" promotion saw growth of 3.7 per cent.

Aldi saw sales rise 18per cent and Lidl picked up by 12.8per cent, but the performance of the larger chains held back the wider sector to 0.9 per cent.

Mr McKevitt said: "Industry growth of around or below one per cent has now persisted since summer 2014 and has become the new normal.

"Despite the accelerating British economy, like-for-like grocery prices are still falling, with a representative basket of everyday items now 1.7 per cent cheaper than 2014."