YOUNG first-time buyers seeking to settle down and start families are at risk of falling into a spiral of bad debt and poor credit, experts gave warning this week.

The “nest-builders” who are turning their back on the hedonism of their teens and early twenties by buying houses and getting married are in a debt danger zone.

Frances Walker, of the Consumer Credit Counselling Service (CCCS), a charity that specialises in debt management, says that its advisers have seen a strong trend emerge indicating that people in their late twenties and early thirties are most at risk of falling into the debt trap.

She says: “We find that the most common time to get over-indebted is in your late twenties and early thirties, when you’re at the nest-building stage. It happens when you have bought your first flat, finely balanced your finances and something happens to push you over the edge into indebtedness.”

The warning comes after an extensive survey this week into the lives of young Britons, commissioned by The Times, exploded the myth that they are feckless, debt-laden spendthrifts. The survey of 18 to 30-year-olds uncovered a generation with average debt of £3,460, but aspirations to climb the property ladder and earn more than their parents.

However, this generation is still labouring under the burden of being the first to have to pay for its own higher education. New research from Prudential found that almost a quarter of students believe that their education is not worth the debts that they are accumulating.

More than a fifth of students owe money to their parents, and the majority of them expect to accumulate serious debts on graduation. Debt fears are spreading scepticism about the value of university among parents as well, with 16 per cent of the opinion that their children should avoid higher education.

Angus Maciver, director of research at Prudential, says: “The reality is that the majority of people entering further education will accumulate some form of debt. The introduction of top-up fees will only add to this debt mountain.”

But experts gave warning that student life is not the only route to debt for young Britons. Many young people, who become accustomed to having some debts from their student days, are all too comfortable with taking on credit. Problems occur when they reach their late twenties and a desire to settle down takes hold. Troubles arrive when the nest-builders’ finances are finely poised, and an unexpected shock pushes them into the trap of excessive debt levels.

Ray Boulger, a senior technical manager at Charcol, the mortgage broker, says that many first-time buyers with little spare cash from their income claim they will cut down on expenditure to fund the expense of a mortgage. “That is fine, but the danger comes when things go wrong. What if the couple split up, or there is an unplanned baby and the joint income is suddenly reduced?” Rises in interest rates can have a detrimental effect on nest-builders. Mr Boulger says that many of the extremely cheap two-year fixed mortgage rates sold 18 months ago were snapped up by first-time buyers keen to keep down their monthly repayments. However, many of these deals lock homeowners into a more expensive standard variable rate at the end of the fixed-rate period.

He says: “Some people may find this uncomfortable, but not impossible, and be forced to cut back on other things, such as going out. But the real problem is with people who have got into a lifestyle habit of spending their surplus cash and are not prepared to cut back when they need to.”

The CCCS says that debt is reaching a critical stage when repayments on credit, excluding a mortgage, exceed 20 per cent of your salary. Ms Walker says: “Another sign is you are using your credit card to pay for life’s essentials, such as food shopping, and not paying off the balance. It’s a really bad idea to pay only the minimum amount on a credit card. It’s a complete mug’s game.”