SOUTHAMPTON residents have used up enough resources to plunge the city into ecological debt.

According to a new report Southampton has already consumed its fair share of the earth's resources for the entire year as of today.

The report was compiled by WWF-UK, formerly the World Wildlife Fund, who claim Southampton has the seventh largest footprint out of 61 cities across the UK.

Based on the data, Sotonians would need nearly three-and-a-halfplanets to sustain their lifestyle.

The news comes just 11 days after Winchester became the first city in the country to go into eco debt'.

Southampton Test MP Alan Whitehead, said: "It is in the clear interest of Southampton to reduce our ecological footprints, as much of the city could be hit by rising sea levels caused by climate change."

Click here to read more from Greenwatch.

One Southampton resident who reduced her carbon footprint is 27- year-old Nicola Sims who has a footprint of just 2.27 planets which is below the UK average of three.

She said: "Although my footprint is less than the national average and one planet under the average for Southampton it is still quite high. I am trying to reduce my footprint even more by negotiating with my boss so that I can work from home one day a week."

Colin Butfield, head of campaigns at WWF-UK, said: "Even the most green city resident can, on average, only reduce their footprint by one third - moving from a UK average of a three planet lifestyle to a two planet lifestyle.

This clearly indicates that the one planet challenge is not just about consumers - government and business must also play their part to avoid the most devastating impacts on the environment."

The data comes from a WWF report, Ecological Footprint of British City Residents, which calculated the average ecological footprint of cities' residents.

An individual's ecological footprint relates to the land and sea area required to provide food, resources and energy, as well as absorb waste and pollution. The main factors affecting this are housing, food, consumer goods, public and private services and transport.

To calculate your footprint and devise a plan to reduce it visit wwf.org.uk/calculator