Hundreds more people in Bradford will get free help to tackle crippling debts thanks to a windfall for the Citizens' Advice Bureau.

The charity is getting cash to more than quadruple its professional debt advisers in Bradford.

The £650,000 Government grant will let CAB employ nine more full-time staff in the next two years.

The cash from the Department for Trade and Industry will also allow Keighley CAB to employ another full-time and one part-time debt adviser above its current one full-time and two part-time workers.

Bradford's extra staff will be phased in and trained by March 2007. Bradford CAB chief executive Andy Taylor said demand in Bradford was "huge".

"Last year we had 5,000 enquiries relating to around £6.5 million of debt," she said. "We deal with the full range of debt, from priority debt relating to the possible loss of a home, to credit cards and loans and anything else where the home is not used as security.

"It's a holistic service. We establish the problem and identify what the priority debts are. We then to try to maximise a person's income by making sure they are receiving all benefits they are entitled to, then draw up a budget based on how much they need to repay the debts and to live. The repayment terms are then agreed with the creditors.

"Our aim is to resolve a problem before it gets anywhere near the courts.

"Having the extra workers is going to make a big impact in terms of the number of people we can help."

Barbara Dorgan-Smith, manager at Keighley & District CAB, said the funding was "fantastic news" which would have a direct benefit for Keighley people.

"The money will enable us to develop our service considerably," she said. "Ideally we would like to set up a debt unit and to work with other local agencies to provide debt advice on an outreach basis.

"In the past year we have challenged a number of organisations in relation to mis-selling endowments and issues relating to payment protection insurances.

"We have a well-established and successful system of negotiating with creditors and agreeing repayment plans and sometimes having debt written-off.

"In addition as a CAB one of our greatest strengths is our ability not only to deal with the individual's situation but also to challenge the underlying causes of debt and poverty and carry out social policy work."

The funding comes as a new poll reveals that three-quarters of people claim to be comfortable with their debts, despite Britons collectively owing more than £1 trillion.