NEARLY 20,000 people in Scotland went to Citizens Advice for help last month, as concerns around debt and benefits continued amid Covid-19 restrictions.

The network has warned that demand shows no signing of letting up with rising need for advice about fuel debt flagged as particularly worrying.

December saw a toal of 19,554 people looking for support and 287,757 views of the Advice for Scotland website - a 47 per cent increase on December 2019.

There was also a 13 per cent increase in the proportion of debt advice relating to fuel debts.

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Gillian Fyfe, of Citizens Advice Scotland, said: “The growing demand for advice over the past few months underlines that many people continue to struggle this winter and communities need support across the board to help them through this pandemic.

“Even taking into account the festive period, the network still helped almost 20,000 people across a range of issues.

“In light of the cold weather and the rising proportion of clients accessing information about energy bills it is a reminder of how important it is that free, independent, and impartial advice continues to be delivered in communities throughout Scotland.

“The growth in website views compared to December 2019 shows a growing number of people are turning to our online advice to self-help. That’s heartening, as we want to reach as many people as possible with our advice given the impact Covid-19 is having across the country.”