DEBT is the main problem for people who turn to an advice agency for help, according to a new report.

The annual report of the Hambleton Citizen's Advice Bureau has identified concerns over debts as the largest single issue for its clients, followed by concerns about welfare benefits.

Deputy manager Jean Wooler said the main areas of worry over debt concerned council tax and bills for gas, electricity and water.

She said: "Exposure to debt and its attendant problems of domestic upheaval and physical and mental health risks, affect the employed and unemployed, the wage earner and person on benefit, lower and higher income brackets alike.

"The bureau's main approach is to mediate with creditors through the production of financial statements to reach agreement on the way in which debt is managed.

"This aims to create a positive attitude in the client towards accepting and solving debt situations.

"Debt is a long-term problem and solutions usually require constant review in the light of changing individual circumstances."

She said the main problems the bureau faced in helping clients saddled with debts was delays and intransigence in some sections of the credit industry, as well as charges for services such as sending letters, which increased the overall amount owed.

The bureau dealt with 12,919 inquiries between April last year and March this year, an increase of four per cent over the previous year.

Almost a third of the inquiries, 32 per cent, were over debt, with 29 per cent over welfare benefits.

The remainder were split between employment, consumer problems, housing difficulties, legal issues and relationship worries.

Welfare benefits worker Anne Dewar said there was still a large backlog of clients waiting for their appeals against decisions to refuse benefits, despite Benefits Agency efforts to simplify the system.

She said the average wait for clients to have their appeals heard was five months.