More than FOUR MILLION Britons are still paying off credit card debt from last Christmas

By Daily Mail Reporter
Updated: 04:58 EST, 13 December 2008

More than four million people are still paying back last Christmas's credit card debt, new figures reveal.

One in ten adults, which accounts for around 4.5million people, have not cleared their debt as the financial crisis deepens.

This weekend is expected to see further dramatic price cuts as consumers head to the stores in the run-up to Christmas and experts predicted people would be tempted to splash out on further spending sprees this year.

Shoppers are expected to be out in force as stores offer further discounts

Shoppers are expected to be out in force as stores offer further discounts

Sean Gardner, chief executive of MoneyExpert.com, who compiled the figures, said: 'More people are putting Christmas on plastic.

'People want to enjoy Christmas and credit cards can help with this', he told the Daily Telegraph.

A total of 1.3million people aged between 25 and 34 are also struggling to pay off their credit card debts, compared with the number last year when 12 per cent of this age range revealed they were still in debt, the equivalent of 1.05million people.

The Citizens Advice Bureau said it was concerned shoppers would be persuaded into getting themselves into more crippling debt by the sheer volume of discounts currently available.

A spokesman said: 'Credit card debt is still the biggest single issue we deal with and each year we see people in desperate state because they have run up thousands of pounds worth of debt just to cover their Christmas spending.

The CAB warned: 'There are tempting offers out there but don't give yourself a headache in the New Year with bills and debts you can't afford.'

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