"When his earnings dried up, he signed up for more cards"

He must have been economical with the truth in applying for them. I believe that credit application forms usually have a box in which to indicate one's income/income band: there isn't normally room for statements like "My earnings have dried up".

I hope that the Banks were his only creditors, and that he didn't end up owing money to local businesses like shops, tradespeople and restaurants. They could so easily go down with and because of him, but for none of the sympathy that he's no doubt already getting.

Gordon Alexander, Frome, UK

James, did you read all of my letter?
If you had, you'd see that I know all about bad luck. - £37,000 worth of bad luck!
Mr Mitchell's bit of bad luck was in losing his job, and for that he would have my sincere sympathy. But what he did after losing his job was where bad luck ended and stupidity took over. This supposedly intelligent university graduate continued to maintain a lifestyle that was patently not sustainable by his new £zero income. He actually admits to signing up to new credit cards to pay off others!! Unbelievable!

Yes James, bad luck can happen to anybody, even you. And I suspect you'd be slightly less sympathetic to Mr Mitchell's current predicament if you were left holding the baby of a substantial debt while he just waved at you from behind the safety of his bancrupcy notice.

Anne Marston, Swansea,

To Anne Marston of Swanea, who thinks Ed Mitchell is a 'clown', to Jeff Cline of Dudley, who scolds that he was 'not too bright' for using one credit card to pay another, to Damian from London, who has 'no sympathy', and to some others who have left their nuggets of wisdom here, haven't you any compassion at all? Misfortune can happpen to anyone. Even to you. Amazing isn't it. If you think you're too clever for it ever to happpen to you, well, you really aren't as clever as you think.

James, Oxford,

I hope Ed Mitchell's luck will turn around. I too, was homeless and sleeping in my car for 9 months. For a single woman in the US, there's always the fear that you will be attacked, so I slept underneath warehouse club's bright lights and ate at a fast food place. I haven't declared bankruptcy (yet) nor do I own any credit cards, but after 5 years I still do not have a job and live on Social Security-it's very hard to work without a permanent address. The root cause of my homelessness was loss of my job,after being unemployed for so long, no one wants to hire you, & it becomes like running on a treadmill-the farther you go, the more you fall behind.

Jamie Nelson, Sammamish, Washington USA

Hope things turn out OK for him. I've been there and this is far far far away from an easy option, the constant threat of violence, theft, hunger, disease and depresion that can tip the strongest and wisest over the edge. if you have a heart you just have to keep smiling to survive.

Tim, Peterborough, UK

I doubt if too many people will shed a tear about Mr Michell leaving Credit Card companies holding the sticky end of a bancrupcy. But I wonder whether the banks and CC companies were the only ones that suffered at the hands of this man's astonishing stupidity.
I'll give you an example of what I'm talking about. My husband runs a medium sized carpet fitting company. Last year he was left £37,000 out of pocket when a clown like Mitchell declared himself bancrupt. Banks can easily absorb those kinds of losses. We can't. Sweet dreams on your park bench Mr Mitchell. Some of us stick with it and stay in the real world instead of throwing the towel in and leaving others to deal with their crap.

Anne Marston, Swansea,

To those who have commented: You are an unsympathetic lot and you need to remember the old song, "There but for fortune, go you and I" I am fortunate enough to be going through a successful period of my life and am in the position where I can afford nice things. However, it was not always thus and it might, yet, change.

I wish Ed Mitchell the very best of luck and hope that someone, somewhere, realises that there is a lot of potential in a man with his education and experience.

Oh and by the way, Neil, they are all journalists. However, a journalist is rarely an author. You are comparing a, once good (and maybe to be again), journalist with a great author.

Marc, St. Barthelemy,

"He ended up with 25 credit cards and used one to pay the other...."
Not too bright is he?

Jeff Cline, Dudley, West Mids

I'll speak with him and talk about a job. I have a similar problem (though I'm not destitute yet!) and am throwing everything at buying an existing business. somebody with his down to earth attitude and experiences may well be able to help

Paul, Milton Keynes,

I presume he was a journalist and not just a presenter. If so he could do worse than write up his experiences as Orwell did in the nineteen-thirties book Down and Out in Paris and London.

Neil , Windsor,

Victim of the spend now pay later culture, people living beyond their means? No sympathy for someone on £100k pa who has £50k of credit card debt.

Damian, London,

This is really quite shocking. Mr Mitchell's suggestion that "tens of thousands are going to go through" a similar ordeal sounds too dreadful to imagine. Talk about a cautionary tale of modern life's excesses.

Peter Koeb, Geneva, Switzerland

what is the root cause that made him laid-off ?

michael, KS,

He should apply for "I'm a Celebrity..."
That show seems to be the last stop for celebs trying to get back on the ladder.

Phill, The Wirral, England