MoneyThe combined financial debt of households in Britain has jumped to over £90 billion, with people owing thousands of pounds on credit cards, overdrafts or loans, according to new research.

Just over half of households had some form of financial debt, with the median amount being borrowed increasing by £400 to £3,200 between 2006/8 and 2008/10.

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Total financial liabilities increased by more than 10% to £94.7 billion in the same period, said the Office for National Statistics.

Households in Wales had the lowest financial liabilities at £2,000, compared with £4,200 in the South East.

People living in the least wealthy households were 13 times more likely to regard their financial debt as a heavy burden as those in the wealthiest households.

Households headed by younger people owed the most, while those with over 65-year-olds had the lowest proportion of financial liability.

The ONS counted financial liabilities as credit and store cards not settled each month, overdrafts and all forms of fixed-term loans.