BANKRUPTCIES in Yorkshire are on the increase, as a "big black cloud of debt" hangs over Britain.
A total of 1,132 people across the region were declared bankrupt during the first quarter of 2005 - up 49 per cent from 798 in the same period last year.
Much of the increase is being driven by people declaring themselves bankrupt, rather than being forced into bankruptcy by a creditor.
As many as 718 people in Yorkshire declared themselves bankcrupt in those first three months - about 70 per cent of the total.
The figures, released by the Department of Trade and Industry, reflect a national trend, which shows that 37,886 people were made bankrupt up to 31 March 2005 - a 30 per cent increase over last year.
Paul Bateman, head of personal insolvency at KPMG in the North, said: "These figures come on top of the huge increase of nearly 30 per cent we saw last year and do prompt the question of where this is all going to end.
"If the current trend continues, we could see annual rates of 60,000 bankruptcies within the next three years."
Updated: 11:26 Wednesday, May 11, 2005
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