Insolvency 'more common than divorce'

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The number of people in England and Wales forced into insolvency rose by a quarter to a record 134,142 last year, one every four minutes.

By contrast the number of couples divorcing dropped sharply to 121,779, a 33-year low, according to the latest government statistics.

Experts blamed the insolvency landmark — equivalent to the adult population of a borough the size of Hammersmith & Fulham — on borrowers "living beyond their means" in the era of easy credit.

The total is made up of 74,670 bankruptcies, 47,641 Individual Voluntary Arrangements — a form of "bankruptcy lite" agreed between borrowers and their creditors — and 11,831 Debt Relief Orders, a scheme aimed at those with debts of less than £15,000.

Insolvency trade body R3 said nearly a million people were struggling with debts without seeking help.