Students are facing a debt problem much worse than in previous years, says the National Union of Students.

The union says that government statistics show that average student debt in 1998-1999 was three times the level of a previous survey in 1995-1996.

And student leaders are projecting even higher levels of debt for those who will be leaving students this year - because these latest official figures pre-date the complete abolition of maintenance grants and complete introduction of tuition fees.

The research into student finances is carried out every three years and shows that the average student debt was �2,473, compared with �777 three years earlier.

This figure includes student loans, bank loans and credit cards - and the NUS says all of these types of borrowing are increasing rather than decreasing.

'Damning indictment'

But the figures also show that students in 1998-1999 had an income that was 12% higher than their counterparts three years earlier - with this increase being attributed to loans and greater access to borrowing.

The survey of student finances claimed that 87% experienced financial difficulty, 61% believed other students had been deterred from university because of cost and 60% believed money problems had affected their academic work.

There was also an increase in students who did not receive their full means-tested contribution from parents - with 30% not receiving the full support.

The union's president, Owain James, described the report as a "damning indictment" on student funding and called on the government to restore maintenance grants to poorer students.