LONDON (Reuters) - British wages excluding bonuses grew by 6.1% in the three months to the end of January compared with the same period a year earlier, official data from the Office for National Statistics showed on Tuesday.

A Reuters poll of economists had forecast regular wages - which are being closely watched by the Bank of England as it considers when to start cutting interest rates - would rise by 6.2%.

(Reporting by Suban Abdulla and David Milliken; Editing by Kate Holton)