The number of people declaring themselves bankrupt has nearly doubled during the past year, government figures showed today.
A total of 13,897 people in England and Wales applied for bankruptcy themselves, as opposed to being forced into bankruptcy by their creditors, during the first three months of 2006.

This was an 85% increase on the 7,528 people who petitioned for bankruptcy during the first quarter of 2005, according to the Department for Constitutional Affairs (DCA).
But the number of people forced into bankruptcy by their creditors rose only slightly during the year, increasing by 16% to 5,615.

Source:
Guardian
12 May 2006

Benedict Mackenzie comments: Bankruptcy is not the only option for people with debt problems. It is important for an individual to find out all courses of action open to them from a professional adviser before going down one particular route – especially one that carries the severe consequences of bankruptcy.