Over a third (34 per cent) of people are getting into debt in order to keep up with more affluent friends, it has been revealed.

According to CreditExpert's Wealth Tells study, men spend the most on cars trying to appear richer than they are, whereas women are more likely to splash out a little too much on a new hairstyle.

Just under a third (31 per cent) of Brits admitted to acting differently around people who are wealthier than they are and five per cent feel uncomfortable or jealous around them.

This can lead to "huge financial problems", warned the firm's managing director Jim Hodgins.

"If you don't keep tight control of your spending and how much you're borrowing you can easily find you can't afford the payments and start to fall behind with them," he said.

Mr Hodgins added that this will not bode well for people who want to obtain cheap and available credit in the future.

The average UK adult owes around £29,926 including mortgages, reports Credit Action.

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