Langold folk learn about loan sharks
Langold Dyscarr Community School was the venue, but the event was organised by West Bassetlaw Children’s Centre.
Other partners at the roadshow were the England Illegal Money Lending Team, who gave advice on the dangers of using loan sharks and how to report a crime if someone becomes a victim.
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The event was even funded using proceeds of crime money taken from convicted loan sharks.
“Everyone enjoyed the activities and plenty of people benefited from the advice available,” said Sue Pond, community involvement worker at the children’s centre in Langold.
“One of our main targets at the children’s centre is reducing the number of children living in poverty.”
“And we know dads have a big impact on their children by acting as positive role models, particularly in terms of promoting maths and science in the curriculum and raising aspirations.”
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“That’s why we decided to make this a dads and children event so that they could engage through various activities.”
Staff from Derbyshire Education Business Partnership helped the families get hands-on by building rockets then launching them outside.
Needless to say it all got very competitive with a prize for the rocket which travelled the furthest.
Other organisations involved included the 2Shires Credit Union offered information about their saving scheme and low cost loans as an alternative to loan sharks.
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And A1 Housing handed out advice on benefits, maximising your income and reducing expenditure.
Sarah-Jane Lynch from the England Illegal Money Lending Team said: “Illegal money lending is a crime affecting an estimated 310,000 households across the UK.”
“January is a crucial time to be raising awareness, as many people will have turned to a loan shark for Christmas and may now be struggling to repay.”
“This will often be the time when they are subjected to threats, intimidation, violence or worse.”
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• England Illegal Money Lending Team runs a 24 hour confidential hotline for people to report illegal lending to trained investigators. Call 0300 555 2222. People can also text ‘loan shark’ followed by their message, to 60003, email [email protected] or find the team on Facebook.