The former owners of a hotel in the north-east of England had almost £1.2 million in debts outstanding when they were finally declared bankrupt, according to reports.

Despite only running Skinburness Hotel in Silloth for a year, Adrian Moore and his wife Vanessa Taron Moore managed to accumulate almost £40,000 in credit card debt, £350,000 in mortgage arrears and £77,000 to other creditors.

The details of the couple’s finances were revealed during their bankruptcy court case the hotel, which was first established in the 19th century, was repossessed by the Abbey National Bank, reports the Cumberland News.

"Running the hotel was to be our dream project but it turned into a nightmare for us," said Mrs Moore.

Financial problems relating to the property were contributed to considerably by the loss of tourism trade during winter months and the costs of renovations that had to be made under the terms of fire safety regulations.

A report from the accountancy firm KPMG in December of last year predicted that this year would see a record number of people around the country enter insolvency such as bankruptcy.