By Jennifer Hill, Personal Finance Correspondent

LONDON (Reuters) - Inflation has hit a near six-year high, the economy is slowing and house price growth has slumped to its lowest in three decades so it is little surprise that repossession orders and bankruptcies are on the up.

The figures make for bleak reading, and experts say things can only get worse for hard-pressed households.

But just how bad is the situation and what action can consumers take to overcome the credit crunch and relieve the pressure? We run through some options below.

Inflation ran at 0.8 percent from March to April, stoked by increases in food and fuel prices and pushing the annual rate to 3 percent, the Office for National Statistics said on Tuesday.

That was higher than analysts' consensus of 2.6 percent and further dented hopes for interest rate cuts despite a slowing economy.

The Bank of England is under pressure to continue to cut the official rate of interest, which has been reduced to 5 percent from 5.75 since December, to shore up the economy in the wake of the global credit crunch.

That has largely contributed to the housing market coming off the boil. Latest figures show that house prices fell in every region of Britain in April with surveyors reporting the widest margin of decline in at least 30 years.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors said its house price balance fell to -95.1 in the three months to April from -79.4 in March -- the weakest since the series began in January 1978 and well below forecasts for a reading of -80.0.