I'd say do it. However, after a couple of years break, ideally - do the gap year travel thing if you can.
Otherwise work to earn a few quid to keep the debt down, get out into the real world and socialise with normal people before going! It really is easy to recognise the "straight - out - of - uni" people in the workplace. The only downside is when you do go having experienced the wider world, you may look on your first - year fellows as being immature rocket polishers - because they often are.
They will mainly have come straight from school, will be away from home for the first time and think they are the dogs bollocks but will actually be pricks. They will annoy the locals, they will talk vacuous shit poorly-disguised as intelligent comment and most of them you won't have anything to do with after you leave. (Anyone who has been to Uni and/or got older and/or lives anywhere near a Uni will probably recognise this!). However, you will meet lots of people that you will recognise as being cool - and there will enough of them to ensure you have a great time. If you do it right you can balance partying hard with cool guys and shag plenty of girls and get a half decent degree as well. Do it wrong and you will end up in debt, with no degree and a pregnant bunny-boiler!
Mmm. not an easy call, it sounds, but it is. Go for it because having a degree doesn't hurt - it doesn't have to be vocational. I did mine having worked for a few years and had a great time before I went, got the degree and also had a great time doing it and then got a job that had nothing to do with the subject I studied. As time passed the degree on the CV did display its value, despite being non-vocational.
If I were to sum up the ideal it would go like this, I think:
Work => Travel => Uni => Work
There are a number of permutations of that but a stint at Uni before you get to the "obviously mature student" point is certainly worthwhile IMHO. One thing I would say, I meet very few people who say anything along the lines of "University. Ruined my **** life, I really wish I had never done it". In fact, I have never met anybody who has said any such thing. However, I meet plenty who say they wish they had of gone or would like to do it but don't think they will get the chance now.