Britain's personal debt is growing by £1m every four minutes. Last year the country's personal debt levels hit a record £1trillion with U.K. consumers accounting for two thirds of Europe's credit card debt. For some these debts are spiralling out of control.

Bankruptcies have risen by 57% in the last two years with one study showing that 8% of the adult population are in financial difficulty. The average person seeking help for their debt from the Consumer Credit Counselling Service has £29,400 of unsecured debt, an increase of 10.5% from just a year ago.

Is it the lack of financial education, the policies employed by creditors or simply a shift in attitude that is leading to these problem debts?

This site aims to explore these issues and asks why Britain is learning the dangers of personal debt the hard way.