THE AVERAGE in-debt British adult in the South East owes £5,724 (excluding mortgages and student loans), according to research by R3, the insolvency trade body.

R3/ComRes’ survey of 2,000-plus British adults found that the average owed by those in debt is equivalent to 11 weeks’ average weekly earnings for a UK worker (£503 per week) and seven months’ average rent in England & Wales (£792 per month).

According to an earlier R3/ComRes survey in November 2014, the average debt was £153 lower, at £5,571.

The survey also found that nine per cent of British adults owe £10,000 or more and four per cent owe £20,000 or more.

Andrew Watling, chairman of Southern Committee of R3 and partner at Quantuma in Southampton, said: “The continued availability of cheap money and only low levels of wage growth have contributed a significant proportion of British adults building up, once verage weekly earnings for a UK worker (£503 per week) more, a sizeable amount of debt in the years after the financial crisis.

“The latest increase in personal insolvency figures suggest that people may now be struggling to pay their debts.

“However, the survey also finds almost two-in-five British adults struggling from payday to payday. Debts could continue to build and become unsustainable if people don’t have extra money left over at the end of the month to repay the principal debt.”

Although based upon a small number of respondents, the survey also found that a number of British adults who are at least ‘fairly worried’ about their level of debt say they are most likely to take out a payday loan if they were to experience a gap in their finances.

Andrew adds: “There has been movement towards providing people in debt with a bit more breathing space to help them deal with their debts before it’s too late.

“The creditors’ petition level for bankruptcy has been increased from £750 to £5,000 while the government has been considering a statutory ‘breathing space’ from creditor action for those in debt.

“But attention must be paid too to encouraging people to seek early advice about unsustainable debt to prevent problem debt building up in the first place.”

When the survey was conducted at the beginning of June, 34 per cent of British adults were fairly worried about their current level of debt, the lowest level since research began in July 2010.

Economic pessimism continues to be low, with just 15 per cent expecting their personal finances to worsen in the next six months.

Andrew continues: “On the eve of the EU referendum the British public had record low levels of debt concerns and pessimism about personal finances was low.

“Obviously the Leave result has brought us into a period of considerable uncertainty. While there is no reason that debt levels should necessarily rise as a result, it will be very interesting to see in the next survey how people’s attitudes to their personal finances have been affected by the vote.”

For those concerned about debt, credit cards (45%) remain the primary source of worry, followed by overdrafts (22%) and bank loans (16%).

Andrew continues: “Credit cards are consistently the leading cause of concern for those with debts. With today’s technology allowing you to pay ‘contactless’, and even through your phone, it can be easy to lose track of what you’re charging to your card. Without noticing, debts can begin to grow.

Adults in the South East faced with a gap in their personal finances are most likely to plug it by cutting their spending found that 56 per cent would resort to spending less if they experienced an interruption to their regular finances, while 48 per cent would use personal savings.

The survey found that 35 per cent of South East adults often or sometimes struggle to make it to payday.

The research also shows that British adults aged 65+ (68 per cent) are twice as likely to use personal savings as those aged 35-44 (34 per cent).

On the other hand, 29 per cent of adults in the South East would ask family and friends for a loan. This is in line with the national average, where it rises to 46 per cent among 18-24 year olds.