The MORI survey found that individuals owe an average of £5,869 on car loans, the highest debt after mortgages and greater than personal loans (£5,270), government student loans (£5,165), bank loans (£4,815), hire purchase (£3,270) and loans from friends and families (£2,663).

Despite these large repayments, the survey found that the vast majority of people in Britain are not concerned about meeting their debt repayments.

Those who are typically struggling with their debt repayments are young parents in their 20s and 30s, living in rented accommodation and earning less than £9,500 a year.

Only five per cent of the borrowers surveyed considered their household’s borrowing repayments a heavy burden, and just four per cent have been in arrears on credit commitments and domestic bills for more than three months.

“Over-indebtedness can cause huge problems for individuals, which is why we are currently working hard to minimise the number of people who become over-indebted, and improve support for those who have fallen into debt,” said consumer minister, Gerry Sutcliffe.

“However, it is encouraging to see that, despite an increase in consumer borrowing, the percentage of those who find their debts unmanageable is still relatively small.”

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