Household debt in UK 'worse than at any time on record'

British household finances among most indebted in major western countries, ONS says

British households spent around 900 more on average than they received in income during 2017, pushing their finances into deficit for the first time since the credit boom of the 1980s.

The Office for National Statistics said the shortfall amounted to nearly 25bn - equal to almost a quarter of the NHS budget - and the overspend was mostly paid for with borrowed money, though households also ran down savings.