The number of middle class families struggling to make ends meet has increased significantly, with debt advice agencies overwhelmed with pleas for help from households in affluent areas of the country.

The rise in financial problems among the professional classes, disclosed by two leading debt advice agencies on Sunday, is being driven by rising inflation, the increased cost of living and the downturn in the housing market.

Transact, a national forum which represents more than 1,000 organisations advising on financial hardship, said that some of its members had been forced to close their books because they were so swamped.

In Congleton, Cheshire, the local advice centre had 32 listed clients and an average of three new cases a week at Christmas. Four months on, it has seen a five fold increase with 135 clients battling to pay off a shared debt of £5.1 million.

Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1981850/