The credit crunch has meant that the patterns of debt are changing and it is no longer solely the low income households who are struggling with out of control debts.

The Consumer Credit Counselling Service, Britain's biggest debt management charity, says that unemployment and the housing market slump has led to a 'fundamental shift' in the nature of debt in this country.

Of the Consumer Credit Counselling Service's 93,720 clients, 12 per cent are now from households that earn in excess of £30,000, a rise from just 8.7 per cent in 2007.

The charity says that while debt is affecting different socio economic groups, it is also becoming more complex, with the consequence that it is also harder to solve.

With UK consumer debt approaching £1.5 trillion, the UK is now one of the most debt ridden countries in the developed world.

Malcolm Hurlston, chairman of the Consumer Credit Counselling Service, attempts to explain how debt has become a more complex problem than in previous times.

“When unemployment triggers a debt problem, the fall in income can leave the borrower struggling to service both mortgage and unsecured debts, while the fall in house prices, and growth in negative equity, takes away the option of selling to clear the mortgage," said Mr Hurlston.

"As over-indebtedness becomes a problem for the more affluent, people who come to us are more likely to have mortgages and to lead complex financial lives. As a result, our task in providing best advice is bound to be more difficult and time consuming.”

Mr Hurlston predicts that debt will only continue to get more complex as the recession deepens and more and more consumers from a wide range of financial backgrounds are affected.

“These trends seem likely to continue for the foreseeable future; the perfect storm may have arrived but we have yet to reach its epicentre,” warned Mr Hurlston.

The charity revealed how difficult escaping from debt is, providing figures that show only 35 per cent of people were able to commit to a debt management plan, under which a set amount is repaid each month.

This figure is down considerably when compared with previous years, in 2007 the figure was a more respectable 42 per cent and in 2006 was even higher at 46 per cent.

The Consumer Credit Counselling Service said that a huge 90 per cent of it's clients had got into difficulty over debts owed on credit cards and through personal loans.

The average level of debt for users of the Consumer Credit Counselling Service was revealed to be a rather high, but not completely unmanageable £14,000.

Tania Houston is typical of customers using the Consumer Credit Counselling Service. She got herself into debt when she used credit cards to fund a house move to London.

After recklessly borrowing to support herself she found that she could not cope any longer, owing in excess of £16,000.

"I started getting into debt with very poor management of credit cards. It got to the point that I could not cope with the charges I was incurring," said Ms Houston.

John Fairhurst, executive at debt management service PayPlan, said that the trend of more middle class households finding themselves struggling with debt is worrying, especially as it is a trend we have not seen in previous recessions.

"It is the result of a society where people do borrow quite freely," he said.

"Homeowners, in particular, have a very optimistic outlook about their house values and find it easy and cheap to remortgage. They are encouraged to borrow more and these are the casualties of that."