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`Record number of debtors` declare themselves bankrupt
13/08/2007
The number of people who decided to declare bankruptcy hit a record high during the last 12 months, government figures reveal.
According to data released by the Ministry of Justice, self-imposed bankruptcy petitions reached 54,536 - which works out to almost 150 per day - in the past 12 months to June.
The report also reveals that 13,384 people petitioned for bankruptcy during the final three months of the period, which is a five per cent rise on the same time in 2006.
Debtors in the north-east were shown to have the biggest increase in self-petitioned bankruptcies, with a 19 per cent jump, followed by the north-west and London at 18 and 17 per cent respectively.
Pat Boyden, a partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers, told the Telegraph that the findings suggest that "the pressure is on with rising interest rates and a slowing housing market".
He added that the current credit crisis may mean that banks may not allow people to remortgage their homes.
