The Consumer Credit Counselling Service (CCCS) has expressed concern after a 22% increase in the number of calls from Scotland to its debt advice hotline.

The increase in calls was met with surprise by the CCCS, whose own research claims that prudent Scots tend to have fewer bankruptcy recommendations than elsewhere in the UK.

Liz McVey, manager of CCCS Scotland, said: "The rise in people from Scotland seeking help with their debts in the past six months is very worrying."

It’s thought that much of the increase can be attributed to the after-effects of an economic recession which saw two of Scotland’s biggest employers, RBS and HBOS, nationalised, with the latter being taken over by the Lloyds Banking Group.

Fears over public sector cuts may also be behind the increase, with more than 25% of Scotland’s 2.472m strong workforce employed in the public sector.