Just when you thought it was safe to go into Reading town centre … a sharp-suited shark strutted his stuff in the street on Friday.
Sid The Shark danced, high-fived, waved and kept a two metre distance from people in a bid to raise awareness of loan sharks.
This cuddly creation was a member of the Trading Standards team who took to Broad Street to hand out leaflet sharing information designed to help anyone affected by the unscrupulous money lenders.
Loan sharks are people who offer cash loans with large amounts of interest, without paperwork. In some cases, they threaten people if payments are not made, making the loanee scared of others finding out. They might also take bank and benefit cards, passports or valuables such as a watch.
Tessa Brunsden, from Reading Borough Council’s Trading Standards Team, said: “There are 310,000 households in the UK borrowing from loan sharks, so it’s really important we raise awareness of how to identify them, how people can get help, and also to look for some of the ways they’ll try to trick people to pull them into a debt cycle.”
Using a cuddly character like Sid acts as an ice-breaker for the team.
“People are asking questions of why he’s here, and what we’re doing, we can follow up and give them the information and leaflets with the contact details. Sid is a good way to start a conversation and get people talking to us,” Ms Brunsden said.
“Anyone affected can contact Stop The Loan Sharks, these calls are confidential. They will take people through every step of the process.
“The hardest part might be making that phone call, but once it’s made, they will be helped, taking them through all those difficult steps and help them get out of that debt cycle.”
For more details, call: 0300 555 2222, or log on to www.stoploansharks.co.uk. Text messages can be sent to: 07860022116.
