Not surprisingly, bankruptcy will adversely affect your credit rating and your ability to borrow money.

While bankrupt, you will be classed as being "undischarged". As an undischarged bankrupt it is a criminal offence to obtain credit of £500 or more - either alone or with another person - without stating that you are bankrupt.

This is the case whether you are asked the question or not. You must volunteer the information.

Nort surprisingly, while an undischarged bankrupt, it will be very difficult if not impossible to obtain a mortgage.

While an undischarged bankrupt, you will also not be able to buy a property under the Right To Buy scheme where secure tenants of a council or a registered social landlord such as a housing association can usually purchase their home at a discount price providing they can prove a minimum two year tenancy.

Once your bankruptcy has ended, you will become known as a discharged bankrupt. Details of your bankruptcy will remain on files kept by credit reference agencies for six years from the date you were made bankrupt.

Many lenders use a credit scoring method based on the information provided to them by credit reference agencies and so this will inevitably have a bearing on you being able to obtain a mortgage.

The bigger a risk you are considered, the less likely a bank or building society will be to give you a mortgage. And if they are willing to lend you money to buy a home, they are likely to charge you a higher than normal rate of interest to cover the additional risk and demand a sizeable deposit.

That said, a mortgage is probably the easiest form of borrowing available to a discharged bankrupt because it is secured against the property. Banks will also look more favourably on your application if your bankruptcy was due to unforeseen circumstances - illness or unemployment for example - and if you can prove that you are now in better financial shape.

And today, there are a number of companies specialising in providing mortgages to those with poor credit histories, including those who have been through bankruptcy. Interest charged on the amount borrowed is likely to be higher than that offered to borrowers without poor credit ratings.