Brian, a well-spoken, slim Scot in his early 50s, recently had a dream that he was waving a flag with the words bankruptcy on it. “It’s horrible to have a dream like that,” he confesses. “It means you’re churning all your problems over and over.” Not just horrible to constantly worry about money but also “boring”, he says. Boredom has been a problem since he moved to London three months ago. Because Brian, looking very much like a sandal-wearing rambler, with a tidy beard and backpack, is sleeping on the streets.

He used to balance his debts. “But once my work as a builder dried up I found it impossible to meet my obligations.” So he cut his losses and quit his home. “My debts are probably going to have an impact on my life for quite a while,” he says.