A poll has revealed Ilkley people are part of a trend for taking on extra work in a bid to avoid running up Christmas debt.

A survey by jobs website Freelancer.co.uk found more people want to pay for Christmas by moonlighting.

Nationally, 56 per cent of respondents had earned more money by moonlighting or taking on part-time jobs. And 46 per cent of respondents from the Ilkley area said they were earning extra to help pay for Christmas.

The survey found more people are now able to work from home in the evenings for employers across the whole of the UK and even the world by finding part-time jobs online.

In the last quarter, businesses posted more than a quarter of a million jobs.

Traditionally, surveys at this time of year find that a third of people will get into unsustainable debt.

Matt Barrie, from Freelancer.co.uk, said: “The advice to earn more has paid off as our figures show a 64 per cent rise in earnings from people looking to earn extra money using the site in the past two months of 2012, compared with the last two months of 2011.”