Credit card abuse is the biggest problem, says the report

Sixty percent of the 9,000 personal bankruptcies last year were in this age group and they owed up to �60,000 each.

The report's author, PKF Accountants, blamed runaway credit card use among the "buy now, pay later" generation.

The survey comes amid growing concerns about the spread of easy credit and the emotional costs of burdensome debt.

According to a survey of 100 PKF clients, the average debt was �37,326 and a quarter of those in debt were homeowners.

The number of insolvency cases in Scotland has risen from 5,538 in 2000 to 8,978 in 2004.

Peer pressure

Traditionally, debt has been associated with unemployment and relationship breakdowns.

However, in recent personal insolvency cases involving people aged between 20 and 30, all were in full-time employment, PKF said.

You are offered credit everywhere you turn and for some people, it is too tempting Bryan Jackson, PKF Accountants

Bryan Jackson, the report's author, said better checks were needed on lenders.

"We need more education and something needs to be done to restrict lenders," he said.

"You are offered credit everywhere you turn, and for some people, particularly, it is too tempting."

He also blamed an increasingly materialistic society.

"Lifestyle expectations have soared. The 'buy now, pay later' ethos has been readily adopted by the younger generations, perhaps as a result of targeted advertising.