Young people in Britain need better education when it comes to debt and debt management, a charity has said.

Credit Action - a national money education charity - believes that better education would lead to less people getting into unmanageable debt.

The charity also says that better education on subjects such as loans and credit cards would have more effect than measures such as increased government regulation.

Spokesman Chris Tapp says people need to be better educated so they can "understand the risks they're taking on" and don't "simply borrow because they're able to".

He cited people receiving and using pre-approved credit cards "just because they are there" as one example of thoughtless borrowing.

Figures released by push.co.uk reveal that the average increase in debt per year at university is £4,074 per student.

The NUS recently speculated that student debt at graduation could be as much as £33,708 by 2010.

© Adfero Ltd