The number of companies going bust this year is on track to be the highest since the depths of the financial crisis in 2009.

Insolvencies rose 10% from a year ago in the three months to the end of September, according to the latest official figures for England and Wales.

There has also been a sharp rise in the number of firms at risk of going bust, the BBC reported.

Firms in "critical financial distress" jumped 25% in the last three months, according to insolvency expert Begbies Traynor.

They are defined as having county court judgments exceeding £5,000 against them - often a precursor to going under.

There are nearly 38,000 companies in critical financial distress, according to data prepared by analysts Red Flag for Begbies Traynor.

Julie Palmer, from Begbies Traynor, said this was down to a combination of higher inflation and borrowing costs twinned with weaker consumer confidence and demand.

She said tens of thousands of British companies were in financial dire straits now that the era of cheap money was firmly behind us.

The construction sector saw the sharpest increase in companies facing critical distress with an increase of 46% compared to just three months ago.