Britons have accumulated a debt mountain of almost £1.5 trillion, a charity has revealed.
Startling new research into the extent of the personal debt problem in the UK was released yesterday.
Credit Action, a financial charity, said that the total debt held by individuals at the end of February 2009 was £1.46 trillion. This is an increase of £34 billion over the last year.
However, the report added that the rate of increase had slowed markedly, with the debt total having risen by £116 billion over the 12 months to January 2008. This could be due to the difficulties of securing loans and cards on the high street due to the credit crunch, or because of a change in mindset among debt-hit Britons confronted by the recession.
A report from the Charities Aid Foundation, released earlier this week, showed that 78 percent of people were looking to rein in their spending due to the crunch. Around four in five also said that money matters were "more important" to them now, when compared with the beginning of the crisis.
Credit Action also found that the average UK household debt stood at £9,500, mortgages excluded. This total rises to £59,765 otherwise - equivalent to £30,000 for every UK adult.
The charity said that interest payments totalled £199 million daily. One Briton was declared bankrupt the equivalent of every four and a half minutes, according to the figures.
