 | EASY PREY  No one knows what you go through when you've got so much debt on you and you don't know how to pay it back
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Women over 60 are the fastest-growing group of people seeking debt advice.
It is a hidden story of debt: a taboo topic of the elderly - particularly women - who are often too embarrassed and ashamed to admit they have got a problem.
Margaret Roberts, 68, has a �10,000 debt which is destroying her life.
It started when her husband of 36 years died.
She was offered a credit card by the Halifax and went on a spending spree buying long-dreamed-of of treats for her grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
But now it is driving her to despair.
"No one knows what you go through when you've got so much debt on you and you don't know how to pay it back, and I've always paid what I owe," she says.
Mrs Roberts is one of a growing number of pensioners in this situation.
A third of all pensioners live on less than �7,500 a year - but like the rest of the population, credit card ownership has steadily grown over recent years.
More and more old people are reliant on credit to make ends meet and it can easily spiral out of control.
Mrs Roberts now needs to stop hiding from her debt and make a decision, to declare herself bankrupt or try to pay off the debt.
Too ashamed
| That beggars belief to me that no one turns round and says enough's enough |
But many old people are too embarrassed and ashamed to admit they have got a problem.
Community workers say that debt is a taboo topic for elderly people, and they will keep their money problems secret even from their closest loved ones.
Retired policeman Nick Colbourne was shocked to discover his mother's secret shame when she died.
Gwen Colbourne had 12 credit cards on which she owed more than �40,000 when she passed away aged 72.
Mr Colbourne simply can not understand why his mother was given so much credit when she was living on a disability allowance and a pension totalling �16,000.
He has come out of retirement for one last case: to try and find out why she was lent so much money.
"That beggars belief to me that no one turns round and says enough's enough, stop getting deeper, you can't even pay back what you've got already," Mr Colbourne says.
His investigation takes him to the City of London and the heart of the credit card industry.
He asks the chief executive of the Association for Payment Clearing Services (Apacs), which represents the credit card industry, what the banks are thinking of lending money to people who will never be able to afford to pay it back.
 Nick Colbourne investigates his mother's debt |
Fraud targets
Scams target almost 30 million people a year, costing the country about �1bn.
It is the elderly who are the most vulnerable when it comes to scams and frauds.
Rita Hopkins lost all her life savings after being targeted by mail fraudsters.
She spent �12,000 on overpriced goods to qualify for prize draws, sending off cheque after cheque to pay for processing fees for her one-off million pound cash prize.
However, as well as losing her savings, Rita is now also facing a debt of over �6,500 on her Barclaycard - a sum just shy of her �7,500 pension.
Her credit card details, which she sent off hoping to win a fortune have been fraudulently used to siphon money from her account.
| CONCERNED ABOUT DEBT? National Debtline: A free, confidential and independent service funded by the Department of Trade and Industry and the credit industry. Tel: 0808 808 4000 Business Debtline: Provides a free telephone debt counselling service for self-employed and small businesses, funded by banks. Tel: 0800 197 6026 Consumer Credit Counselling Service: Funded entirely by the credit industry, the service offers advice to people in debt. Tel: 0800 138 1111 Citizens Advice: Offers free, independent and confidential advice from more than 700 locations throughout the UK. Tel: 020 7833 2181
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It was not until she was refused cash at a cash machine that she knew there was a problem.
"I've never been in debt before - I don't like it," Rita Hopkins said.
Julie, her daughter alerted Barclaycard immediately but they did nothing and the money continued to be debited from her account.
She is furious that nothing was done to stop the fraud and wants to know why Barclaycard lent her mother so much money.
She meets Barclaycard to find out what can be done.
The average debt for pensioners who call a national debt helpline is �31,000.
When it comes to being in the red those who are least able to pay back their debts are the elderly. Margaret, Gwen and Rita all found themselves to be easy prey on Britain's Streets of Debt.
Easy Prey, the third programme of five on Britain's Streets of Debt, was first broadcast on BBC One at 0915 on Wednesday 7 June and here online.
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