Research carried out by Moneysupermarket found that one in seven people believe they will always be in debt.

The study also found that over a quarter of people had increased their borrowing in the last twelve months, which suggests that some may be trying to hide their debt management issues by borrowing further.

Tim Moss, head of loans and debt at Moneysupermarket, said: “For those who have seen significant increases in their indebtedness over the last year, I would strongly encourage them to go through their household budget ruthlessly, line by line, and identify where outgoings can be cut.

“Those struggling to make their repayments must avoid the temptation to ignore the problem and should contact their lenders, as well as one of the independent and free debt advice providers.”

Ivan Cooper, Chairman at debt management company Chiltern said: “The reserach suggests that some people aren’t reducing their risk to credit but actually increasing it by taking on more debt.

“With loans and other credit increasingly difficult to secure, people need to consider alternative solutions to debt management, that do not include getting further into debt.”

Debt help providers, such as Chiltern, offer free debt advice and can provide a number of debt management solutions to alleviate debt problems and help those with overstretched finances to regain control of their accounts.