LONDON (Reuters) - More than four million people are still paying for last Christmas, a report shows.

One in 10 of us, equal to 4.4 percent of the adult population, are still carrying credit card debts from Christmas 2006, according to a poll of almost 2,000 people for financial comparison website MoneyExpert.com.

Chief executive Sean Gardner said: "It is not time to cancel Christmas, but for millions of us it really is time to cancel some credit cards.

"We can all give into temptation at Christmas and put it on plastic, but if the debt lingers from year to year you're starting to get into trouble."

UK payments association APACS estimates that consumers will spend £53 billion in December, with £11.7 billion of that being on credit cards.

However, 54 percent of adults either did not get into debt last Christmas or paid it off in a month or less, the MoneyExpert research shows.

Another nine percent took between two and five months to clear their festive spending.

Lenders have been tightening up in the wake of the global credit crunch, turning down a growing number of applicants.

But, for those who are accepted, there is still an array of attractive deals that could help borrowers cut their debts.

More than 70 percent of standard credit cards offer zero percent interest on balance transfers, with the average introductory period lasting 10 months.

Borrowers will have to pay a fee — typically two or three percent of the balance — to transfer the debt.

Halifax currently offers the longest zero percent deal on transfers at 15 months, while Virgin Money offers the same interest-free period on purchases.