Credit crunch begins to bite on the high street

Nearly half the population in the UK are putting off a visit to an optician or a dentist because of costs and the impact of the credit crunch, a You Gov survey conducted in July has revealed.

The survey of nearly 3,000 people from around the country, commissioned by health plan company HSF, also found that 57 per cent of those surveyed were adamant that the government rather than the individual should be paying for optical bills.

Overall, the HSF survey found that 48 per cent of UK residents are putting off medical checks because of increasing living costs - a rise of 30 per cent since 2006 when a similar survey was carried out by the company.