People as far away as Caernarfon have been asking the office for financial advice as their own local CABs can't cope due to restricted opening times and constantly busy phone lines in their own area.

Members of the public are contacting Denbigh CAB about many issues such as the security of their money, personal debt and priority management.

Fears over mortgage arrears and household bills have led to a surge in the number of people seeking help from the Citizens Advice service.
But Denbigh is not alone.

A survey of more than 300 CAB offices found a 35 per cent rise in mortgage queries during the first nine months of this year compared with 12 months ago.

Nearly a third of the 5.7 million new problems dealt with by staff at Citizens Advice Bureau in 2007-08 concerned debt, making it the biggest single issue they have faced.

"All we know is that the numbers have been overwhelming. We are struggling to keep up with demand," said a national CAB spokesman. At CAB nationally, debt is the single biggest enquiry and makes up a third of all enquiries."

He added that debts were mostly tied up in credit cards and loans, but people coming to the end of their short-term mortgage deals were also finding it hard to cope.

"The effect of the credit crunch is that people are stretching out the credit and trying to make ends meet," he said.

"People on short-term deals with their mortgage come in because they have gone back to their lender's standard variable rate.

"People's expenses have gone through the roof."

Businesses, local authorities and the public across North Wales are suffering from the credit crunch.

However, Denbighshire Council says it has not been affected by the collapse of Icelandic banks and says that its funds are kept safe elsewhere.

But a county council spokesman said: "We haven't had a very good settlement from the Welsh Assembly Government which will affect things in the next three years."

Denbigh CAB says it helped more than 1,607 people last year but that number is set to rise steeply as the credit crunch bites harder.

Denbigh CAB manager Lesley Powell said: "Advice really does change lives, not just for the people who get help from us but also for those who work in the bureau.

"Through advice on benefits, tax credits and debt management, we have also helped to raise £2,752,866 in much-needed additional income for local people," she added.

Are you worried about how the credit crunch will affect you?

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