CONSUMERS in Sedgefield borough have been warned not to fall into the Christmas debt trap.

Debt accounted for almost 40 per cent of all inquiries dealt with last year by the Sedgefield and District Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB).

The service in the borough handled more than £6.3m of debt from 537 client cases with 3,123 debts, an average of almost six debts per clients.

Bureau chiefs have warned consumers that tempting Christmas credit offers may not be all they seem.

The CAB nationally has seen consumer debt problems increase by 47 per cent over the past five years.

Steve Wakefield, Sedgefield CAB manager, said: "All too often we see how for many people high-cost credit turns into serious debt.

"At this time of the year, with the pressure on to buy more and spend more, it is all too easy to miss the small print or sign up to deals that you would not normally consider.

"We wanted to take this opportunity to remind people what to look out for when considering taking out credit, so that hopefully they will not be counting the cost of Christmas 2003 for years to come."

The CAB has provided a list of tips on how to avoid Christmas debt traps:

* Shop around for the lowest credit rate and compare terms.

* Read the terms and conditions of any agreement and ask if anything is unclear.

* Work out the total amount payable over the term of the loan, bearing in mind that some may have a variable interest rate, and make sure the monthly payments are within your budget.

* Interest free credit deals can work to your advantage as long as you pay off the balance before the period expires. Failure to do so will probably result in very high interest.

* Many store cards charge high interest, so make sure you can pay the account in full at the end of the month.

* Don't be tempted to buy toys from catalogues - they are usually more expensive.

Anyone who does get into difficulties can get advice from the Citizens Advice Bureau.

Session times and venues in Sedgefield borough can be obtained by telephoning 0870 1212024 or on www.cab-spennymoor.co.uk