This is how much money people in Yorkshire would struggle to pay immediately if they got an unexpected bill

In a survey, almost 20 per cent of adults in the Yorkshire and Humberside region would find it somewhat difficult, very difficult or impossible to immediately pay an unexpected bill for £20, without assistance from an external source, according to new research from R3, the insolvency trade body, and ComRes.

Eleanor Temple, chair of R3 in Yorkshire, said everybody could easily find themselves with a bill to pay that they were not expecting.

“The research is more evidence of financial precariousness in Britain, and a worrying sign that many people do not have any kind of financial cushion to fall back on if needed.

“Many people are one unexpected bill away from losing financial stability. A missed payment for a relatively small amount can be the trigger for an escalation in debt that soon becomes impossible to juggle.

“Unexpected bills for these amounts aren’t uncommon: £20 for a school uniform, £50 for a train ticket to visit a sick relative, £100 for a new washing machine motor, £250 for car servicing or repair, or £500 for a boiler repair or replacement.”

R3’s research asked adults in Yorkshire and Humberside how difficult they would find it to immediately pay unexpected bills without any extra help.

In the survey, three per cent of adults in the region said they would find it ‘very difficult’ or ‘impossible’ to immediately pay an unexpected £20 bill, slightly lower than the six per cent across Britain who would struggle to pay this amount. Another 16 per cent in Yorkshire said that doing so would be ‘somewhat difficult’, slightly higher than the national figure of 14 per cent.

Almost three in ten (29 per cent) said they would find it at least somewhat difficult to pay an unexpected £50 bill, close to the average for British adults across the country of 34 per cent.

In the area, 46 per cent said the same about an unexpected bill for £100, compared to 47 per cent across Britain.

In total, 57 per cent said the same about a £250 bill, compared to 60 per cent in Britain, while 66 per cent in Yorkshire said this would be the case for a £500 bill and 67 per cent said the same across Britain.

In Yorkshire and Humberside, just over half of adults, 53 per cent, would find it very difficult or impossible to immediately pay an unexpected £500 bill, close to the Britain-wide figure of 52 per cent.