The company is a year into a three-year recovery plan aimed at closing the gap with Tesco, and it said it was continuing to win customers from its arch-rival.

The group said that sales, excluding petrol, for the three months from January to March rose 7.6% compared to the same period the previous year.

Easter was responsible for 1.6% growth on its own, the company said.

On a like-for-like basis - comparing sales only in stores that were open a year ago - growth was 6.8%.

For the year to March, sales were up 7.8% on the previous 12 months.

Strategy working

Sir Peter Davis, the group's chief executive, said the results meant Sainsbury's had recorded five straight quarters of strong growth in the face of intensifying competition.

"These numbers demonstrate a sustained step change in our UK supermarkets sales performance," he said.

"This is clear evidence that our strategy of upgrading our store portfolio combined with offering outstanding quality and great service at competitive prices is being well received by our customers."