LONDON, Sept 26 (Reuters) - The British arm of German discounter Aldi reported a 79% fall in 2021 operating profit but said trading had accelerated quickly in the past six months as pandemic restrictions were lifted and rising living costs affected shopping habits.

Aldi, which earlier this month overtook Morrisons to become Britain's fourth-biggest supermarket group, said operating profit was 60.2 million pounds ($63.8 million) in 2021, down from 287.7 million pounds in 2020.

The profit fall was blamed on investment in prices, ebay login staff and COVID-19 related expenses.

Sales rose 0.9% to 13.645 billion pounds.

Aldi and rival discounter Lidl have been hurt during the pandemic by a lack of significant online businesses, but have drawn customers as the cost of living crisis hits consumers.

The latest industry data shows Aldi's sales growth at 18.7%, with a market share at 9.3%, the highest in its 32-year history.

($1 = 0.9433 pounds) (Reporting by James Davey, editing by Louise Heavens and Jason Neely)