A Florida woman is suing a mortgage company in the US after claiming that their constant demands and threats of debt collection were responsible for the death of her husband.

Elizabeth Dianne McLeod claims that what she described as persistent demands and harassment from their mortgage company over debt repayments exasperated her husband Stanley’s heart condition, leading to his death in 1995.

More than £800m of debt has been taken on just to pay household bills, according to new research.

A survey by one financial advisory group claims that the sum has been borrowed in the past three months alone as struggling families attempt to cope with increasing household bills and the spiralling cost of living.

At the same time, Citizens Advice Bureau claimed that debt-related calls had increased by more than a third compared to last year and research has also revealed that as many as one in ten people are knowingly missing bill repayments.