A staggering £744 million extra was spent on credit cards during the month – up from the £166 million in December.

As a whole consumer credit jumped £1.93 billion in January, the largest monthly increase since last May.

Simon Rubinsohn, chief economist at investment management firm Gerrard, said: “Unless the apparently insatiable appetite of households for debt begins to wane, a further tightening in policy looks on the cards before too much longer,”

But mortgage lending fell over the same period, with 8,000 fewer loans according to Bank of England figures.

Consumer’s borrowed £25.7 billion overall during the month, a bit less than December’s £26.2 billion.

Despite this remortgaging and credit cards stayed popular as £10.6 billion was lent on credit, up from December’s £9.2 billion.