Torquay 'witnessed most personal insolvencies last year'

The personal insolvency rate recorded in Torquay last year was the highest in the country, new research suggests, which might have affected some people in credit card debt.

Experian revealed that as many as ten in every 1,000 adults living in the seaside town entered insolvency over the course of the 12-month period.

Overall, the Scottish town of Hamilton is said to have experienced the largest increase in personal insolvencies in 2009, with the rate going up by 57 per cent annually.

Experian's UK and Ireland credit services managing director Phil Cotter outlined the kinds of people who have recently had to deal with personal insolvencies.

He stated: "Groups that had come to rely on manufacturing and low-skilled service sector jobs have been hit the hardest, but the biggest increases were amongst the UK's most affluent and successful consumer types."

The first three months of this year saw 35,682 personal insolvencies in the regions of England and Wales, the Insolvency Service reported earlier in May.

Posted by Gemma Walker.