There has been an increase in the level of personal debt among people in the UK, new figures from creditaction have found.

Figures suggest that, at the end of January 2009, the total personal debt in the country equated to £1,457 billion, marking an increase of £42 billion.

In addition to this, the average household debt including mortgages now stands at £59,730, with £209 million of interest paid on these debts on a daily basis.

Creditaction’s statistics show the total secured lending on properties totalled £1,225 billion, which slowed a further 0.6 per cent to 2.8 per cent over the last 12 months.

Furthermore, £233 billion was lent to individuals at the end of last month, a figure which has continued to slow to 4.6 per cent in the last 12 months.

Another recent survey by fairinvestment.co.uk found that five per cent of Britons admitted that since the credit crunch they had used between 91 and 100 per cent of their savings.

It also discovered eight per cent of Brits with savings accounts have had to reduce the amount they save, while six per cent have had to stop saving altogether.