An analysis of official insolvency figures released by the Ministry of Justice, by business services firm KPMG, shows a 16 per cent increase in people petitioning for their own bankruptcy, as opposed to being forced into bankruptcy by a creditor, from 1,271 cases in the first quarter of 2008 to 1,474 cases in the second quarter.

The highest increases across the region were in Doncaster (up 64 per cent) and Wakefield (36 per cent). Other cities also saw rises – Scarborough, 29 per cent; Bradford, 20 per cent; Sheffield, 15 per cent and Leeds, three per cent. There were falls in York, 20 per cent; Halifax 16 per cent; Huddersfield 12 per cent and Barnsley 10 per cent.

Nationally, the three months ended June 30 saw an increase of four per cent in the number of people making themselves bankrupt in England and Wales compared to the previous quarter. At the same time there was a similar increase in the use of Individual Voluntary Arrangements – IVAs – which rose seven per cent in the most recent quarter, a reversal of the trend over the past five quarters which has seen IVAs suffer a total fall of 13 per cent over the past year.

Mortgages

The figures reveal that 13,754 people successfully petitioned the Court to bankrupt themselves and 9,410 agreed an IVA in the quarter April to June 2008.

According to KPMG's analysis of IVA data, the average debtor proposing an IVA in the last quarter owed a total of £47,800. Separate figures from the Insolvency Service showed that the average bankrupt had debts of £50,828.

Paul Bateman, KPMG's Head of Personal Insolvency in the North, said: "There are no signs of base rates falling any time soon, consumers are seeing the cost of their mortgages eating up more of their income, energy costs are about to leap and the cost of the weekly shopping basket grows by the day.

"More than one million homeowners face the end of cheap fixed rate deals this year, mortgage deals continue to be difficult to secure and unsecured lending has tighter restrictions than for many years as a result of the credit crunch.

"Consumers are faced with a barrage of bad news with no sign of a respite. The message to everyone in difficulty is to take advice on all the options and then act on it."


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