A Shropshire law firm said today that financial pressures are largely responsible for statistics revealing that the number of divorces has rose last year for the first time since 2003.

Family Law specialists Mortimers Solicitors, which have offices in Bridgnorth, Shrewsbury and Hereford, have admitted that over the last 12 months they have seen more clients filing for divorce than usual, largely due to the effects of the economic situation.

The number of divorces in England and Wales rose by 4.9 per cent in 2010 to 119,589 compared with 113,949 in 2009, according to the Office for National Statistics.

This is the first annual increase in divorces since 2003 when there were 153,065 divorces.

The number of divorces fell steadily between 2003 and 2009 in parallel with the decline in the number of marriages as more couples choose to cohabit rather than marry.

However, the family department at Mortimers is expecting to handle even more matrimonial cases than usual over the next few months, especially in January which traditionally has a very high divorce rate.

Karen Brake, a partner at Mortimers who is based at the Bridgnorth office, is a specialist in family law.

She said today that it is an unfortunate fact that the continued economic problems have led to more divorces in the UK.

“Come January people seem to want to make a clean start so we are expecting a busy month,” said Miss Brake.

“It is even harder for people with the property market as it is. Reaching a final resolution is not easy and this just increases the agony.

“Many people are forced to stay in a failing relationship because the financial crisis means they cannot afford to leave.”

Mortimers are celebrating the successful move of their Shrewsbury office which is now based in Windsor Place in the centre of the county town.