UK debt problems `rise rapidly`

The number of British consumers with personal debt problems has increased rapidly in the past year, according to new statistics.

Total personal debt in the UK has rocketed by ten per cent, or £120 billion, in the last 12 months to reach £1,380 billion at the end of September, figures from financial charity Credit Action show.

In the UK, the average household has a debt of £55,403 including mortgages, while the average consumer is in debt by £4,554 on personal loans, motor and retail finance deals, credit cards and overdrafts.

Every day, Citizens Advice offices across the country deal with over 6,600 individuals with debt problems and consumers borrow £330 million in loans and mortgages.

Credit Action is a national money education charity which was founded in 1994.