A bankruptcy every 5 minutes in Britain

Published: Oct. 11, 2008 at 5:08 PM

LONDON, Oct. 11 (UPI) -- Every five minutes or so, a British resident or business is declared bankrupt, an advocacy group reports.

Credit Action said the number of debtors turning to it for advice has increased by one-third in the past year, Sky News reported Saturday. The group said the average British family now owes 9,500 pounds (more than $16,000).

Every day, an average of 104 houses or business premises are repossessed.

Roger Bootle, managing director of Capital Economics, said the era of easy credit is over.

"We've been through a period when the financial markets went bonkers and remarkably central banks and governments allowed them to and many of us were caught up in this," he told Sky News.

© 2008 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Order reprints



Additional News Stories
Chicago boxer dies in first title fight (19 min)
Boy, 13, spent 11 days riding subway (22 min)
Lending dropped sharply in third quarter (39 min)
NASA honors astronaut Fred Haise Jr. (46 min)
Tomlin: Roethlisberger to play this week (49 min)
Retail sales flat week before Black Friday (54 min)
Pujols voted NL's most valuable (55 min)
fark
Hey boys, you know that hot teenage girl you were exposing yourself to via webcam? Well, turns out...
As President, I believe that robotics can inspire young people to pursue science and engineering....
Step 1) Escape prison. Step 2) Steal cigarettes. Step 3) Return to prison with the cigarettes?
Look at the two women to your left, and the two to your right: One of the women in bed with you...
In an event that happened only once in the prior century, but twice in the last five years, hundreds...
Taking a bath with your turkey, and other things the Butterball turkey hotline suggests you not...