Growing number of people living in the Highlands were turning to expert advice in order to tackle their mountain debt problem, it has been found.

Reports said in the midst of perpetual credit crunch debt-related queries to the Citizens Advice Bureau in Inverness had risen by nearly 200 per cent since April.

More people considering filling bankruptcy were also visiting the office. People across the Highlands had since February been making a bid to avoid losing their homes, said Manager Alasdair Christie. And that many more, who had been refused credit to make end meets, were turning to loan sharks.

“The situation began last year when people came off fixed-rate mortgages to find their payments had increased by up to £300 a month. Some also have other loans secured against their homes,” explained Mr Christie. But with credit crunch, he added, they discovered that they could not remortgage at favourable rates and began having difficulties.

He said that people were buying food and paying their mortgages with their credit cards and that people who were unable to get credit from banks turned to door-to-door lenders in increasing numbers.

Those who could seek help earlier enough usually avoid eviction or losing their homes through repossession.

Describing the horrifying situation he said: “People come to us in a state of terror, some unable even to open the envelopes from banks or courts,” adding that such people wait to have the envelopes open for them and some contemplate suicide.

In the same manner Highland Council money advice officer, Martin Conroy told of his department’s encounter with people struggling with crippling debt, saying they had seen a sharp rise in the number of those seeking help.