MORE people were unable to pay their debts in Wyre Forest in 2022, new figures show.

The figures come as Citizens Advice warns people are at risk of "spiralling into debt" amid the cost-of-living crisis.

A person becomes insolvent when they are unable to pay their debts – and are left with a choice of declaring bankruptcy or taking on measures to pay them back.

New figures from the Insolvency Service show there were 239 personal insolvencies in Wyre Forest over 2022, up from 191 in 2021.

However, this was still lower than before the pandemic – in 2019, 249 insolvencies were registered in the area.

The same figures show across England and Wales there were 119,000 insolvencies in 2022 – up from 110,000 the year before, but down from a peak of 122,000 in 2019.

While bankruptcies have declined nationally in recent years – from nearly 17,000 in 2019 to under 7,000 in 2022 – there have been an increasing number of 'Individual Voluntary Arrangements', which can involve high fees from private providers.

IVAs involve a person in debt agreeing to a repayment plan with their creditor, who may agree to reduce or stop interest payments over the same period.

In Wyre Forest, 167 IVAs were granted in 2022, along with 18 declarations of bankruptcy.