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The Consumer Credit Counselling Service (CCCS) is a registered charity that provides free, anonymous debt advice to more than 500,000 people a year. It has released new figures showing which areas had the highest levels of personal debt in the UK in 2010.
The average amount of personal debt for CCCS clients last year was £19,338 – that’s based on credit cards, personal loans and other unsecured borrowing. Mortgages are not included.
The town with the highest average debt was Slough, whilst the Shetland Islands had the lowest level. Nine of the 10 postcode areas with the highest average debt were either in London or the South East, with Crewe in Cheshire representing the North in 7th place.
In the Shetland Islands, people in debt owed an average of £12,278, whereas residents of Slough, the town made famous by groundbreaking cringetastic comedy The Office, owed an average of £24,946. That’s pretty much equal to the average annual income for people working in the UK.
Watford was just behind Slough, with an average figure of £24,783. Debt in the Hertfordshire town rose by 5% in 2010, despite the UK average falling by 10% between 2009 and 2010. Belfast was the only other place in the UK that experienced a comparable increase.
Here’s how the top 10 stack up:
- Slough, Berkshire £24,946
- Watford, Hertfordshire £24,783
- Sutton, Surrey £24,489
- Kingston upon Thames, Greater London £24,169
- Guildford, Surrey £23,945
- Harrow, Greater London £23,633
- Crewe, Cheshire £23,177
- Stevenage, Hertfordshire £23,076
- Tonbridge, Kent £23,031
- 10. Chelmsford, Essex £22,708
Whether or not you live in one of these towns, if you’re having trouble managing your finances or you’ve borrowed more than you can afford, you should get some professional debt management advice as soon as you can.
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