It has been revealed that credit card debt is not rising as high as first thought, in fact many indications show that it may be coming to a complete stop.

According to financial charity Credit Action personal debt held by Britons rose by £1million every 77 minutes in May 09. This may sound quite but steep but contrasting these findings with the revelation that the amount in January was £1 million every 5.3 minutes and it is clear that the recession may be having a good effect on people’s spending habits.

This may be down to tightened lending criteria made by the banks to potential customers or more likely consumers deciding to curb their erratic spending ways. The total debt now owed by each household as it stands is around £58,360.

Credit Action's figures follow the release of official Bank of England data, which revealed that £300m more consumer credit was taken out in May than was given back including £200 million of credit card debt.