Debt levels are soaring in Bognor

Clients turning for help to the Citizen's Advice Bureau are arriving with between 35,000-40,000 of debt which they cannot repay.

This compares to the 21,008 annual salary for the area, according to the latest Arun District Council statistics.

The explosion in indebtness has occurred as the recession takes its toll on a town already recognised as a low-wage area.

Bureau manager Tony Mckown said: "The biggest single increase in inquiries we are seeing is related to debt."

He explained that one man who had recently sought help had 38 creditors to pay off. Others had debts into six figures.

A significant factor of recent months had been a surge in people aged 55-plus seeking help with their debts.

"They got sucked into the borrowing culture of recent years and are now paying the price," explained Mr Mckown.

"A lot of people are finding themselves in a very depressing situation, having taken on more than they could possibly afford.

"That is now coming home to roost. What is happening more is that we are trying to help more people who have got mortgages who can no longer maintain their repayments.

"We used to have a lot of debts associated with credit cards and loans but now we are seeing debts linked to properties."

Mr Mckown said the increase in debt problems mirrored a general rise in the workload at the bureau to a unprecedented levels since it opened in 1976.

"Our workload is at record levels. We are possibly dealing with half as many inquiries again as we were 12 months ago," he explained.

More clients were also calling in with redundancy issues, which can lead to a host of other problems.

"We have seen a significant increase in almost all categories. Someone who loses their job quite often has debt issues, benefit issues, housing issues and relationship issues," he stated.

Detailed figures are not yet available but the bureau handled 1,700 debt inquiries in the year to the end of last March. In all, it dealt with 3,167 clients with 11,326 inquiries.

He expected that amount of activity to increase further because of the new extended opening hours.

A seventh interview room has been created from a former store cupboard at the bureau in the town hall to cope with the tidal wave of inquiries.

The bureau's 35 trained advisors are soon to be joined by another six in training to deal with the additional clients. Their efforts are alongside those of a nucleus of paid staff.

The bureau has links with the Legal Services Commission and the Shelter charity to ensure it can provide as much expert advice as possible.

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