As the UK faces soaring inflation and a higher cost of living, Brits who find themselves in financial difficulties are being forced to consider questionable methods of acquiring some quick cash, according to a new survey.

Discount vouchers website, CouponCroc.co.uk, carried out an online poll of over a 1,000 people and found that a quarter (28 per cent) of people in the UK have considered using a payday loans website in the last 12 months to help with money problems. This is an alarming figure as some payday lenders, known as 'legal loan sharks' quote over 4000 per cent representative APR and have come under constant criticism from MPs and consumer groups.

Financial worries are also driving people to swap jewellery for money on cash for gold websites, with 34 per cent of those polled admitting they had considered using one of these for the first time in the past year.

Scott Green, director of CouponCroc.co.uk, said: "With the cost of living soaring and many people out of work or under threat of losing their jobs, they're considering increasingly desperate measures to free up some quick cash."