Credit hungry UK consumers borrowed nearly �10bn last month, the biggest jump ever and a record 14% rise on a year earlier.

June's record rise in borrowing is likely to reignite fears that UK consumers are building up a debt mountain which they may find difficult to afford if interest rates rise or if the sluggish economy causes them to lose their jobs.

Some economists say the risk is increasing that debt levels will eventually become unmanageable and provoke a sharp slowdown in consumer spending.

With consumer spending making up such a large proportion of the economy, any significant slowdown would be expected to hit UK economic growth.

Re-mortgage boost

Credit card spending in June was slightly lower than expected but homeowners borrowed a record amount against the increased value of their homes.

Overall, consumer borrowing in June greatly exceeded analysts' forecasts.

The message is worryingly clear - give us low rates of interest and we borrow like crazy Geoffrey Dicks, RBS Financial Markets

Borrowing leapt by �2.16bn against a forecast rise of �1.6bn.

However, the boost in UK debt levels was as a result of homeowners re-mortgaging rather than spending on credit cards.

Total borrowing against homes stood at �7.81bn in June up from �7.13bn the previous month - the highest monthly figure since records began back in 1993.

The Bank of England figures showed that mortgage approvals - loans agreed but not yet completed - jumped to 108,000 in June from 91,000 in May.

Crazy credit

Debt levels might rise further still in the coming months as the Bank of England's recent interest rate cut feeds through to homeowners.

"The message is worryingly clear - give us low rates of interest and we borrow like crazy," said Geoffrey Dicks, chief UK economist at RBS Financial Markets.

Economists say mounting debt could act as a drag on the economy for years to come, particularly as borrowers can no longer rely on inflation to eat away at the real value of their debt.