HUNDREDS of people in St Helens being crushed by a mountain of debt are now desperately seeking financial help.

The problem has become so bad that our Citizens Advice Bureau is having to turn away townsfolk seeking financial guidance.

In the past six months alone 124 new clients with debt problems have registered with the bureau. Together their debt totals more than £1milllion.

The average debt of clients is between £12,000 and £15,000 mainly amassed on credit cards. One desperate visitor to the CAB had 60 individual debts, while some have bills for as many as 16 credit cards.

The crisis has left some people on the brink of having their homes repossessed and others slipping into ill health.

Management at the advice base say their teams of staff and volunteers are turning away people seeking to discuss debt problems, such is the scale of the crisis.

Yvonne Fovargue, CAB manager in St Helens, said: "Although some people do have high mortgages it is the credit cards and the loans that are really worrying.

"People who come and see us are at the end of their tether. Around 40 per cent of them have been on anti-depressants trying to cope. Debt causes marriage problems, relationship breakdowns, it is not good for families.

"Debt happens very gradually and can spiral out of control. No-one intends to get in that situation but often happens because a change of circumstances."

She also warned that it is not just younger people, spending recklessly who are experiencing bad debts: "It is a problem across the board. People have been re-mortgaging to get the equity but then finding they can't afford the payments because interest rates have gone up."

The CAB in St Helens believes improving financial literacy levels is crucial. At a recent visit to St Helens College they found that although some students realised the bank paid interest on savings, they were not aware of interest charges on borrowing."

She added: "It is the prevention not the cure, people need to understand financial products."