February is usually the month in which families seek to gain control over their Christmas spending and so lenders "bombard" them with personal loan adverts, an expert has claimed.

James Coney, writing for the Daily Mail, warned debtors who wish to consolidate their borrowing not to just pick an advert as it may not be offering the best deal.

He urged people to shop around and look for the best deal available.

The most important aspect of consolidating debt is to work out exactly how much is owed to how many lenders, Mr Coney continued.

"You don’t want to forget about one and have a nasty surprise once you’ve got on top of your repayments," he warned.

Recent research by Halifax claimed that January is the most popular month for taking out debt consolidation loans.

Neil Chandler, head of the bank’s unsecured personal loans department, said it can be much easier to make one fixed monthly payment rather than worrying about several different creditors.