WORRIES about homelessness and debt have increased dramatically in Oxford, the Citizens Advice Bureau revealed.

The charity reported statistics for the first three months of the financial year which show there were 230 more enquiries – 871 compared to 641 the previous year.

Housing queries have also risen steeply, from 351 for April to June last year to 465 this year, with 29 people needing help with homelessness and 43 with threats of homelessness.

There have also been a significant number of calls for help from people about dismissal from work, which now account for 512 of all employment queries.

Gill Tishler, director of Oxford CAB, said: “There are warning signs here of stress on the housing stock in Oxford and the ongoing fragility of employment for many people.

“If you are getting into difficulties do seek advice – don’t ignore the problems as the chances are they won’t go away.”