A CHARITY said the number of people in Colchester contacting it with debt problems had risen by 27 per cent.

The Stepchange Debt Charity said its helpline was called by 1,341 people from the Colchester area last year, compared to 1,059 in 2013.

People who contacted the charity only had, on average, £21 left at the end of the month to put towards their debts after paying bills. On average, they owed £12,669 in unsecured debt, such as credit cards, personal loans and overdrafts.

Marina Woodrow, manager of Colchester Emergency Night Shelter, said it had experienced an increase in clients, with a third saying they were in debt Mrs Woodrow said the figure was probably closer to 50 per cent. She said: “Quite a lot of our residents probably won’t be that forthcoming because they would feel it would restrict them getting help here with housing.”

Keith Henrick, general manager of homeless charity Emmaus, said: “We are getting many more referrals now from a wider area.

“Many are from relationship breakdowns with one of the couple losing the accommodation.”

Mr Henrick said the amount of time people were spending with Emmaus, which gives them a home and a job, was also getting longer.

It was now about 47 weeks, compared to an average of 26 weeks three years ago.

Stepchange’s figures were released as part of Debt Awareness Week, aimed at helping people to regain control of their finances by creating a comprehensive household budget.

Visit stepchange.org/Debt AwarenessWeek.aspx for more information.