Students urged to seek debt advice

Beccy Boden-Wilks, spokeswoman for the National Debtline, said that as debt becomes normalised with students, that does not mean that it should breed complacency.

“It is important that young people don’t develop a complacency about [debt] where they accept it and feel that credit is feely available,” Ms Boden-Wilks said.

“It would obviously not be a good thing if young people carried a lax attitude to borrowing through their life. If you feel that you are struggling, get debt advice and quickly.”

Her comments come as thousands of students across the country start getting used to university life for the first time.

However, the new term also marks a near-threefold increase in tuition fees, adding to the debt burden that graduates will carry.

With young people often getting their first taste of freedom, Ms Boden-Wilks urged responsibility regarding debt: “You need to distinguish between need and want.”