UK consumer debt has outstripped GDP for the first time, with the total amount outstanding running at £1,345bn compared with £1,330bn in GDP.

The figures, from a Grant Thornton survey, reveal the ease with which the public has been able to borrow, and would have left the country technically bankrupt if it were not for much of the debt being repayable over several years.

'Britain's huge level of consumer debt is symptomatic of the country's well established "buy now pay later" culture,' said Stephen Gifford, Grant Thornton's chief economist. 'We can no longer generate enough yearly GDP to cover the amount we owe and need next year's income to cover this year's debts.'

Grant Thornton head of IVAs Mark Allen said many people walked a 'financial tightrope' and were in danger of defaulting on their repayments.

'All it takes is an increase in costs, or, as is the present case, a rise in mortgage premiums due to higher interest rates, to force people to default on their repayments - hence the increases in bankruptcies and IVAs,' said Allen.

Further reading:

Government confronts banks in IVA showdown

Insolvency Practitioners' Association to regulate IVAs