PEOPLE caught in the spiral of debt in York now have a new champion.

He is York-born Mike Horncastle, 41, who has been appointed development manager of York Credit Union Study Group - and he wants the help of the city's businessmen and women.

Mr Horncastle's primary task is to form York's own version of a non-profit-making, community-led people's bank, which will counter extortionate interest rates charged by doorstep lenders to desperate residents.

His target is to get the York Credit Union up and running by late spring next year, and offer a service for secure savings and low-cost loans.

The urgency is highlighted in a report by the York Citizen's Advice Bureau, which shows that debt represents about 40 per cent of its advice workload in the city

He said: "First we must get the funding in place and then registration with the Financial Services Authority will follow."

Mr Horncastle, who has arrived fresh from setting up a credit union in Eastbourne, said he was impressed with the level of support the idea had received from City of York Council and University of York.

He said: "I intend to develop that support by approaching the city's employers, who can make a huge contribution both directly and indirectly.

"For instance, employers can offer payroll deduction saving as a benefit to their staff.

"I would also like to attract more business people with a wide range of skills and abilities to take on the role of unpaid directors of the new organisation."

Britain, he said, was a relative latecomer to the world of credit unions, largely because it had so many mutual building societies, but the movement had accelerated since many of them demutualised.

Now York is one of few cities which does not have a credit union.

There are more than 600 in Britain, with 500,000 members and savings of about £300 million.

Updated: 11:26 Friday, November 26, 2004