A leading industry expert has warned that many holidaymakers propel themselves into in debt because of annual trips abroad.

No less than 12 million Britons according to a new study from CreditExpert.co.uk have been found to be living beyond their means in the quest of the perfect holiday.

The survey by Ipsos MORI on behalf of the online credit monitoring service from Experian® reveals that 27 per cent use a credit card, take out a loan, dig into an overdraft or even borrow from relatives to finance their fun. A hardcore of six per cent – the equivalent of more than 2.5 million adults – say they get into debt most or every time they take a holiday.

Having too much fun is the financial downfall of many, with 22% of those who go into the red admitting that it’s the holiday trips that force them into difficulties.18% own up to not thinking about the cost until they’ve got home again and 9% are so relaxed about spending that they fail to keep track of what’s being spent.

Jim Hodgkins, managing director of CreditExpert commented” A lot of people see summer holidays abroad as an absolute necessity which they can't go without and even if they can't afford to pay for it they'll take on more debt just so they can get away.’’

He added, "The problem with this approach is that, very often, the people who'll pay for their 2007 holiday using credit, did the same last year and, by taking on more credit to pay for this year's holiday, they're adding debt on top of more debt."

In a severe warning to over spending Britons CreditExpert feel we as a nation are heading for a credit meltdown.

"The more people pretend that debt is not a problem for them and continue to do things like pay for summer holidays with credit cards and loans, the worse things will get.

"Eventually what will happen is they'll miss payments and will suddenly find they have a lot of creditors looking for money they have no hope of paying back."