PEOPLE living in the postcode areas of Southampton, Peterborough and Newcastle upon Tyne have the highest levels of personal loan debt per person in Britain, according to figures from lenders.

Data which covers just under twothirds of the country’s personal loan market and around threequarters of mortgage lending was published jointly by the British Bankers’ Association (BBA) and the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML).

The figures, which cover around 9,000 postcode sectors, show that the total outstanding mortgage debt in south west London alone is at similar levels to that for the whole of Wales.

At the end of 2013, people living in the Southampton postcode area of SO32 3, which covers places such as Bishop’s Waltham, Corhampton, Droxford, Durley, Wickham and Eastleigh, have £1,880 worth of personal loan debt per head, which is the highest level in Britain according to the data.

The Peterborough postcode of PE7 0, which covers the areas of Coates, Hampton, Folksworth, Yaxley and Whittlesey has the second highest level of debt per person, at £1,869.

The report cautioned that the levels shown are not an indication of the “financial health” of borrowers.

For example, areas of Britain which are mainly industrial are unlikely to see high levels of personal loans. Nor do the figures indicate current demand for loans as they are made up of borrowing agreements which have been made in the past as well as debt which has been taken out more recently.

The figures also show that of Britain’s £902 billion-worth of outstanding mortgage debt that was held at the end of last year, almost £232 billion of it was held in London.

The mortgage and personal loan data has been provided by Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group, Nationwide Building Society, Santander, RBS, and Clydesdale and Yorkshire Banks.