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Figures released today by the Ministry of Justice showed that 4,851 creditors filed petitions for bankruptcy, a decrease of 15 per cent on the petitions filed in the same quarter of 2007.

Around 13,080 debtors also filed petitions for bankruptcy in the first quarter of 2008, down 13 per cent on the same quarter of 2007.

At the same time, 2,965 companies filed winding up petitions, a decrease of 10 per cent on the number filed in the corresponding quarter of 2007.

Despite the apparent good news, the figures also showed a 12 per cent increase in the number of debtors filing for bankruptcy to 13,080 in the first quarter of 2008, compared with 11,674 in the fourth quarter of 2007.

The number of creditors filing for bankruptcy also jumped up by more than 5 per cent in the first quarter of 2008 to 4,851, up from 4,583 in the previous quarter.

Companies that applied for winding-up petitions also increased marginally by 2.6 per cent in the first quarter of 2008 to 2,965, up from 2,888 in the final quarter of 2007.

The figures simply add to the recent spate of bad news for the UK economy.

Last week the number of homeowners facing court action and possible repossession of their home was said to have increased by 16 per cent in the first quarter of 2008 (read story) triggering the Financial Services Authority (FSA) to announce an investigation into lenders repossession practices. (Read story.)