Britons are preparing to increase their credit card spending during the 2006 festive season, a survey predicts.

The average consumer will fork out £1,270 on their credit cards between October and December - 35 per cent more than last year - according to Morgan Stanley.

The main area of spending is expected to be on the home and car, closely followed by groceries. They will collectively account for over half of planned expenditure. Holidays and travel is also set to be a major area of spending over the festive season, as are Christmas parties.

Men are leading the way, shelling out £1,417 - a quarter more then women.

They are expected to spend most on the home and car, while women will flash the plastic most on groceries.

Around the regions, Londoners will spend the most at £1,467, while people in the north of England will spend the least at £1,037. The research questioned 2,000 adults.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.