Credit card debts grow

SHOPPERS are piling on credit card debt at close to the fastest rate since before the financial crisis, new figures show.

Bank of England statistics show borrowing on credit cards rose 9.6pc in the year to January, the second-highest rise since February 2006, when lending went haywire shortly before banks collapsed. Consumers now have a record £70.4bn of credit card debt, fuelling fears the binge will end badly.

Peter Tutton of Stepchange Debt Charity said: ‘With so many financially vulnerable households it is notable that the most common debt we see has seen the fastest growth.’