More than 3.2 million people in the UK own five or more credit cards, despite a rise in concern over debt issues, a new report has warned.

A study by MoneyExpert.com has revealed just under 80 per cent of adults have at least one credit card and 28 per cent of Britons applied for further plastic during 2007.

However, Sean Gardner, chief executive of the site, warned that debtors who are juggling five or more cards because they owe money to all of them are probably "in real trouble".

"We would urge borrowers to take action now to get their debts under control as the days of easy credit are long gone," he continued.

For some people, without access to credit with which to refinance their borrowing, their money worries may seem to be increasingly beyond control.

As the credit crunch dried up access to cheap borrowing, some debtors could be concerned that they face bankruptcy.

However, there are other options and one alternative is an individual voluntary arrangement, usually called an IVA.