‘Shocking’ figures reveal struggles in face of rising food prices

Fuel was another factor, with 73 per cent blaming higher petrol prices, according to research by R3, the insolvency trade body.

R3 described the figures from the association’s latest personal debt snapshot survey as “shocking”.

Andrew Walker, chairman of R3 in Yorkshire and a partner at Irwin Mitchell, said: “With 55 per cent of people in the region reporting that they are worried about their current level of debt and a similar proportion saying they struggle to make it to pay day, it is of great concern to see that many pressures are coming from the rising costs of essentials such as food and fuel.”

R3’s survey found that 35 per cent of those in Yorkshire and Humberside sometimes struggled to make it to pay day and 21 per cent often struggled.

The most prevalent type of debt in Yorkshire and Humberside is credit card bills, with 30 per cent of people reportedly worried about card debts.

This is followed by overdrafts with 22 per cent of people concerned and mortgage repayments with a figure of 21 per cent.

Mr Walker said R3 is seeing a rise in the proportion of people who are struggling to make it to pay day owing to pay day and other short-term, high interest loans.

“As the recession continues to bite in the region, growing numbers of people are finding themselves becoming ‘habitual’ debtors, trapped in a cycle of paying off interest whilst not actually making any inroads into reducing the debt itself,” he said.

“While a short-term, high interest loan may seem like an easy answer to the immediate problem, in the long term it is likely to cause debts to spiral out of control.”

R3’s research revealed that 31 per cent of people in Yorkshire and the Humber expect their financial situation to deteriorate over the next six months, slightly higher than the national average of 28 per cent.

Some 27 per cent in the region revealed that they had no savings and 10 per cent have taken on more debt over the last few months, while 14 per cent are falling behind with bills and payments.

R3 is the trade body for insolvency professionals and is made up of 97 per cent of the UK’s insolvency practitioners.

Recent research from R3 showed that individual insolvencies in Yorkshire and the Humber dropped last year, but pockets of the region, namely Hull and Scarborough, ranked among the worst in England and Wales.

For England and Wales as a whole, total numbers of individual insolvencies was highest among the 34-44 age group for both males and females in 2011.