Nearly 10,000 Britons seek debt advice every day as UK debt hits £57,888 per household

By Elliot Wright, 6th January 2010

The average UK household is £57,888 in debt, according to a new report by Credit Action.

The figure, which includes the amount owed on mortgages, is one of several shocking statistics compiled by the money advice charity.

The total debt of the entire UK stands at £1,459bn, a 0.7% increase over the last twelve-months. This means the average amount owed by each adult in the country is £30,226 (including mortgages) - 113% of average national earnings.

Average household debt excluding mortgages is £9,016, this figure rises to £18,784 for households who have some form of unsecured loan.

The average adult in is £30,226 in debt (including mortgages) - 113% of average national earnings.

Debt problems are so severe that the Citizens' Advice Bureau is dealing with 9,300 new cases a day from individuals seeking help with 1000 people attempting to make debt consolidation arrangements each day.

The report also shows that 2,093 people were made redundant every day in a three month period up to the end of October 2009, and a property is repossessed every 11.2 minutes.

Average consumer borrowing via credit cards, motor and retail finance deals, overdrafts and unsecured personal loans has risen to £4,708 per average UK adult at the end of November 2009.

Christmas 2009 has already hit people hard, with almost 4m people going into debt to pay for the recent festivities. 6.5m people fear that they won't be able to pay their bills at the end of January due to Christmas spending.

The Office of Fair Trading and Citizens Advice are urging people who have struggled financially this Christmas to start thinking now about saving for next year. This should help reduce the need for expensive credit, and limit the financial and emotional challenges associated with problem debt.