The greedy banks must take the blame for pushing us all into debt.

Our boy Jim is at it again. He's having a real pop at the banks about credit cards. And boy, do they deserve it. Now the blighters want annual charges in what is now the water-bed effect. Push down bank profits in one place and they spring up somewhere else. You'd think they were all as white as the driven snow when it comes to this pressing issue about increasing consumer debt.

Who do you really think has been making it easy to get into debt? The banks, of course. They have been irresponsible on an industrial scale. One of my young 'ums was a Molette of 18-years-old, with no job and still at school. He had a saving account, then HBOS sent him an enticing credit card - without asking. I was shocked. I complained to the chief executive at the time saying it was immoral. He just shrugged his shoulders. Like a good Mole, I cut up the card and threw it away.

Take last week in that very fine Metro free newspaper. There was a worthy two-page feature about our growing debt problem. Excellent stuff. Then blow me - they had a blommin' competition. A debt competition!!

The prize? A shopping trip to New York, sponsored by the Royal Bank of Scotland. Come on, Sir Fred. Get a grip of your guys.

The whole feature was sponsored by RBS - the owners of NatWest and host of other businesses. Debt collection: Make It Happen!

Recent research has revealed that UK consumers have overtaken the US in terms of debt penetration. The total debt of the UK population (secured and unsecured) now represents 104% of gross domestic product (GDP) compared to 92% in the US. At the same time, outstanding levels of consumer credit hit 18% of GDP in the UK, compared with 17% in the US.

Maybe we can have this as an Olympic sport in 2012? At least we might win a medal.

"The average UK shopper now has more consumer credit than their counterparts in France, Germany and Italy combined. Despite the rapid expansion of consumer credit in some European countries, UK consumers look likely to remain the leaders for unsecured personal leverage for the foreseeable future," says PWC.

That's some record. And it is very scary when there are record bankruptcies. But the banks must take responsibility for this. At a time of record bonuses for executives and profits, they have been driven by short-term gain - with a stuff-the-customer-as-much-as-possible attitude. And all the banks have been forced to compete with this.

Banks were once sensible places - boring even. Let's have some more boring bankers offering us Moles better service and decent rates. And what they should do - or Gordon Brown should make them - is create a large billion pound rescue pot to help those who have had their lives blighted by huge debts. They have a moral obligation to help those in trouble.