Agencies join up in war on loan sharks

The England Illegal Money Lending Team has joined forces with West Yorkshire Police, Leeds City Council and West Yorkshire Trading Standards to tackle illegal money lending. Officers visited residents in Richmond Hill, Osmondthorpe and East End Park to warn about the dangers of loan sharks. It is estimated 310,000 households across the country are in debt to a loan shark.

Insp Jackie Hawkes, from the Burmantofts and Richmond Hill Neighbourhood Policing Team, said: “Loan sharks intimidate and threaten what are often some of the most vulnerable people in our local communities.”

Leeds City Council’s leader, Coun Keith Wakefield, added: “We will not tolerate illegal money lending in our city. These individuals prey on the most vulnerable members of society, have a devastating impact on families and are a particular blight in some of our poorest communities.”