Families that fall into the category of "middle Britain" are facing serious debt problems as the economy continues in its downturn, it has been claimed.

According to a report from Axa, there are fewer middle British households than people often assume and debt management difficulties among this demographic are rising dramatically.

In fact, figures from the insurance firm suggest that enquiries for debt help among this sector have increased by 500 per cent and even individual who earn over £70,000 per year are not immune to money problems.

Steve Folkard of the AXA Financial Task Force said: "In spite of their higher earning power, middle Britain households are as susceptible to economic pressures as everyone else."

"What is also clear is that middle Britain households have felt the effects of the rising cost of living."

Alliance & Leicester reported recently that one in six people in the UK would need to use credit to cover their costs if they had washing machine malfunction or a boiler breakdown.