A WORCESTER law firm is reporting a surge in married couples pushing for a divorce this month.

Bradley Haynes Solicitors, which is situated at an office in Foregate Street, typically see more couples petitioning for divorce in January than in any other month of the year.

The trend has become a national one, with lawyers nationally suggesting that the term Divorce Day, or D-Day - often given to the Monday of the first week back to work in January - is a true one.

Figures in the past from the Office for National Statistics have shown that there are typically around 100,000 divorces nationally a year, with many happening this time of the year.

Zoe Upson, director and head of private client work at Bradley Haynes Solicitors, said: “Christmas is traditionally a time of joy to most people.

"For some couples, however, Christmas is a time of great pressure, and, for some families, will expose fault lines in relationships.

"Couples who may have co-existed with each other are forced to spend more time with each other, sometimes with relatives they do not get along with.

"This, along with it being a very expensive time of year, can lead to resentments coming to the fore.

"Couples often then reflect upon their lives together, where their relationship is going and what the new year will hold for them.

“We appreciate that making a life changing decision to divorce has often taken a long time to reach.

"It is therefore vital that lawyers who guide couples through the process understand the legal, practical and emotional implications of such a choice.”

The solicitors firm has put together a helpful insight into some of the trigger events that may lead to separation and divorce in January, which can be read on the firm's website abcommercial.co.uk.