大象传媒

The managing director of a chain of pawnbrokers says business has increased in his stores by 50% because of the cost of living crisis.

Nathan Finch, who runs Pickwick Pawnbrokers in Maidstone, says he has also noticed more middle-class customers seeking cash to cover increasing utility costs.

A common sight on the high street during the Victorian era, the pawnbroker industry shrank in the 20th century with the arrival of new forms of credit.

There are 857 pawnbrokers in the UK compared to 2,000 a decade ago. There are 103 pawnbrokers in the South East.