Scots' hours stretch out as bills pile up

Scots are having to work longer hours and even move in with friends to help make ends meet, a survey suggests.

Housing and homeless charity Shelter estimates that 9 per cent of people in Scotland have had to increase their work hours or take on a second job, compared with the British average of 7 per cent.

Four per cent of respondents in Scotland said they had moved in with family or friends, double the 2 per cent average across Britain.

The survey of 2,234 people across the UK also indicates that around two million people paid their rent or mortgage with credit cards over a year.

The charity said the proportion was equivalent to about 5 per cent on average in Scotland and across Britain.

Graeme Brown, director of Shelter Scotland, said: "A reliance on high-interest options such as credit cards to pay rent or a mortgage is a highly dangerous route to go down."