A map detailing the most debt ridden areas in Britain has revealed that the South-East tops the list as the most affected in the UK.

The figures from ClearDebt, an advice company, show that residents within the South-East have an average amount totalling £26,576 in unsecured loans.

Nick O'Reilly, president of the insolvency profession's trade body R3, said: 'People living in the City may well have felt happy with higher levels of debt until their circumstances changed, similarly, people who move to the Isle of Man, as opposed to those who come from there, tend to need a higher level of income to do so. Should that income fall, their debts will become a problem and their scale of debt proportionally higher.'

The survey also revealed that although mostly a poor problem, wealthy or middle class people will often find themselves owing significantly more.