It was not a merry Christmas for some student nurses

The research for Unison, the public service union, showed that 6% were more than �10,000 in debt.

Unison is urging ministers to scrap the current "Scrooge-like" bursary system and pay student nurses a wage.

With annual support of just �5,562, student nurses will have found the festive season a "real nightmare instead of a holiday", the union said.

'Essential work'

"Student nurses with children are particularly hard hit at this time of year with the additional expense and are under enormous pressure to work extra shifts," said Karen Jennings, head of health at Unison.

"There is no doubt in my mind that many hospitals rely on student nurses to work hard on the wards all over the Christmas and New Year holiday.

"The government could do a great deal to relieve the pressure by paying students a decent wage for the essential work they do."

Second jobs

The Unison survey of 2,400 student nurses found that almost half had responsibilities for looking after children or relatives.

Two out of five said they had seriously considered quitting their training, while most had other jobs to supplement their income.

A Department of Health spokesman said student nurses made a "valuable contribution" to the NHS and received more financial support than other students.

"This is in recognition of the specialist nature and particular demands of health professional training programmes."

She said older students and single parents got additional allowances and grants towards childcare costs.