WE’VE all been there, haven’t we?

The mechanic appears from under the bonnet of your car with a pained expression on his face. He rubs his chin, has a sharp intake of breath and delivers the bad news. “Sorry guvnor, it’s worse than I thought.”

So it is with the financial state of the country, as we are now all beginning to realise.

Yesterday it became clear the economy is shrinking faster and more severely than first thought and we are all in for a much bumpier ride.

While a huge great chasm is opening up between Labour and the Conservatives about whether we can spend our way out of the crisis, the government is lining up its target for blame if things don’t go to plan.

It will be in large part the fault of the banks if they do not end the lending drought.

Treasury advisers also have been telling MPs they are justified in betting that growth will be jumpstarted by a mix of falling energy prices, interest rate cuts and public spending.

This is not, they insist, Noddy economics.

The key word in all that is betting, because it’s one big economic gamble, whichever political plan you back.

And everyone of us has a pile of chips at the table as the roulette wheel spins in the next few months.

l Meanwhile, Dorset police are dispensing seasonal advice to motorists about not leaving valuables in cars, especially Christmas presents over the next couple of weeks.

Hmmm. Lean pickings for thieves this festive season methinks.