As the festive season befalls us once again and Brits around the country gear up for another heated season of mass spending to fight of the cold, their ability to shop 'til they drop could be significantly reduced.

Christmas is the time when you can practically hear the collective swipes of plastic at tills around the nation's high streets as the scramble to purchase that new must-have toy or accessory for Christmas gifts begins in earnest.

But according to a new report published today, UK Christmas shoppers can fully expect to face severe restrictions on their spending as lenders reject credit card applications left, right and centre and significantly reduce debt limits.

The report from accountants at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), explained that consumers who are hoping to extend their credit for extra Christmas spending, will need a clean bill of health from their existing lenders or run the risk of being classified as sub-prime borrowers and consequently face rejection.

The credit squeeze is also expected to affect lenders, as some credit card companies are facing a sharp downturn in profit levels. According to a report entitiled Precious Plastic 2008, many credit card firms have already seen their profits reduced by a painful £4 billion since 2000, by a combination of rising card charge-offs (bad debts) and cut-throat competition.

Consumer spending was fairly healthy in the third quarter of the year and despite hints of a slowdown in November, there were still hopes among UK retailers last week, that consumers were planning a holiday season of serious spending.

The last ten weeks of the year account for more than half of some retailers' revenues and in recent years many shops have relied on a last-minute spending sprees to bail them out of dire situations.

But these hopes may be nothing more than a pipe dream, as finacial forecasters are increasingly doubtful that shoppers will turn out en mass at the nation's high streets as is usually the case, to give their plastics a good work out.

Just a few days ago, the papers were reporting that UK retailers are already seeing a slump in consumer spending and are desperately pulling out the big guns in a last-ditch attempt to tease spenders out of their safe zones.

As PwC has said, this year could prove a whole lot more difficult, as thousands of applications for credit cards continue to be refused.

PwC's report also noted that the average UK adult owed £33,000 in loans, compared with over half that amount - £17,000 - in 2000. Also, more than a million people on discounted and fixed-rate mortgages face average monthly cost rises of £140 (nearly £1,700 a year) when they remortgage at higher rates in the coming months.

Richard Thompson of PwC, said: "There are tough times ahead for both consumers and credit card companies. Banks are continuing to take action in response to the rise in consumer debt by tightening their credit acceptance policies. Many consumers will find it increasingly difficult to obtain credit in the run-up to Christmas."