Official figures show there has been a dramatic increase in the number of people in England and Wales who applied for bankruptcy during the 12 months to the end of June.

And in the final three months of the period, 13,384 people petitioned for bankruptcy themselves, as opposed to having their creditors petition for them to be made bankrupt, 5% more than during the same period of 2006, according to the Ministry of Justice.

Although the figure is lower than the previous quarter's total of 15,133, over the 12-month period the total number of self-imposed bankruptcy petitions hit a new high of 54,536.

During the second quarter of the year some 4,760 bankruptcy petitions were made by creditors, meaning that during the period nearly 75% of people asking to go bankrupt were initiating the process themselves.

The figures give details of bankruptcy petitions made to courts in England and Wales during the three months to the end of June.

They reveal that the North East saw the biggest jump in the number of individuals petitioning to go bankrupt, with a 19% rise during the second quarter of the year compared with the same period of 2006, followed by the North West at 18% and London at 17%.

However, there was a 1% fall in the number of self-imposed bankruptcy petitions in the South East during the same period, while numbers remained static in the East.

The average person going bankrupt owed £46,587, according to accountancy firm KPMG, while those taking out IVAs had run up average debts of £48,800.

Mark Sands, director of personal insolvency at KPMG, said: "With average debt levels as high as this, five increases in interest rates in the last year, and a further rise on the cards, the pressure on the over-indebted continues to increase.

"It is unsurprising that we are seeing more and more people choosing personal insolvency as the solution to their problems.

"Despite the national fall in bankruptcy numbers, we can't take comfort in this trend, which we see as being only a temporary respite from long-term increases to record levels."

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