LONDON, May 25 (Reuters) - British public borrowing totalled 31.696 billion pounds ($44.93 billion) in April, the first month of the new financial year, down from 47.315 billion pounds a year earlier when the public finances first felt the full impact of the COVID pandemic, official figures showed on Tuesday. Economists polled by Reuters had on average expected 30.9 billion pounds. ($1 = 0.7055 pounds) (Reporting by David Milliken and Andy Bruce; Editing by Kate Holton) Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.