The Insolvency Service data presents a heart-rending picture with regard to the number of people going broke in the last quarter of 2008!

The reported 19,100 cases of bankruptcy are “all-time high” figures, as thousands of people hit by the ongoing financial meltdown failed to pay their debts. These bankruptcy figures for the last quarter mark a 9.4% increase from the third quarter, and an agonizing 22.2% rise from the same-quarter earlier-year figures.

Scotland with 75% and Northern Ireland with 39% were the top two names in the list of increase in the number of personal bankruptcy cases in the fourth quarter, on a year-on-year basis. England and Wales followed in third place with an 18.5% leap in personal liquidations.

In England and Wales, nearly two-third of the personal bankruptcies comprised full bankruptcy declarations, while the remaining one-third were IVAs - Individual Voluntary Arrangements – which are agreements whereby people can write down a certain fraction of their debts without having to undergo the full consequences of insolvency.

Noting the dismal scenario of escalating bankruptcy cases, Vince Cable, the Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesman, said: “This shows that the banking crisis has spilled over into the real economy, forcing thousands of people and businesses to the wall. With Britain facing a worsening recession, the number of bankruptcies may well get considerably worse before it gets better!”