PERSONAL bankruptcy numbers in Kent are rising relentlessly according to new figures.

According to the Department of Constitutional Affairs (DCA) there has been a 76 per cent increase in the number of individuals declaring bankruptcy in Kent as numbers rose from 121 in the third quarter of last year to 213 for the same quarter this year.

The biggest increase was seen in Maidstone where numbers rose by 137 per cent and Medway continued to witness the largest volume of people choosing to go down the bankruptcy route as numbers rose by 92 per cent from 48 in the third quarter last year to 92 in the same period this year.

Medway was closely followed by Canterbury who witnessed a 77 per cent increase from 40 to 71 cases.

Across the rest of the UK, figures released by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), show a year-on-year increase of 27 per cent in Bankruptcy Orders made whilst the DCA data shows the increase is being driven by people declaring themselves bankrupt, rather than being forced. Nearly two thirds of bankruptcies are now people bankrupting themselves

More than 33,000 individuals were declared bankrupt in the year to 30 September 2004, the highest number since records began.

Chris Nutting, director of corporate recovery for KPMG in Kent, said: "High levels of personal debt, fuelled by consumer credit and rising interest rates, are driving the continuing increase in bankruptcies.

"As these figures reveal, more people are making themselves bankrupt which suggests bankruptcy is now seen as a more acceptable way of dealing with debt difficulties.

"I suspect this is a result of the perceived simplification introduced by the Enterprise Act in April this year. Many bankrupts are now discharged from the effects of bankruptcy after only six months, where as three years was previously more typical."