Student runs up record debt

A student has run up a £40,000 debt pursuing her dream of becoming a vet, she revealed yesterday.

Catherine Roach, 24, could spend her entire working life - until she is 70 - paying off her student loan, which the National Union of Students said was the biggest it had encountered.

Miss Roach's debts started to spiral during her five-year course at the Royal Veterinary College, at the University of London.

They grew due to the cost of living in the capital, the length of course and her need to take unpaid work experience in holidays, when students on other courses can earn money.

Originally her debt with the Student Loan Company was set to be £32,044.

But Miss Roach, from Old Trafford, Manchester, failed her finals and will need to borrow from a bank to pay for an extra three-month stay in London as she cannot get any more student loans.

'I don't know quite how I'm going to get the money,' she said. 'It's just one of those things you have to put up with. I have no choice.

'I still want to be a vet. It's still my dream despite it all.'

Miss Roach said her level of debt was typical on her course, with one friend owing £10,000 more than her.

Students have faced increasing levels of debt since means-tested grants were phased out in the early 1990s.

The NUS said students living in London spent an average of £8,500 a year.