DEBT continues to blight the lives of people in Bradford, with a charity seeing a 30 per cent increase in calls in a year, a survey has found.

StepChange Debt Charity’s helpline was contacted by 1,713 people from the Bradford district last year, compared to 1,335 in 2013 – a 28 per cent rise.

The average person had only £21 left to put towards their debts after paying their essentials household bills each month. They also owed £11,052 in unsecured debt such as credit cards, personal loans and overdrafts, the survey found. Alex Bohdanowicz (pictured), specialist services manager from Bradford and Airedale Citizens Advice Bureau, said: “We are not shocked by these figures. The recession is now technically over but it’s impact is still hitting people hard.”

“We are seeing a significant demand for our debt advice services in Bradford, especially essential debts such as council tax.”But household budgets in the Bradford district have shown slight signs of improvement, with those contacting the charity saying they are an average of £10 better off than the previous year.

The figures have been released as part of StepChange’s Debt Awareness Week – 7 Days, 7 Ways campaign.

It is aimed at helping people to get control of their finances and start tackling their debt problems.