PAYDAY loan firm Wonga didn’t make it into today’s supplement, as it’s in our main paper, but wherever it goes, there’s usually critcism not too far behind.

Yesterday, the company revealed its annual results, which showed it earned more than £1m in profits every week throughout last year.

A quick check on their website reveals why. A £400 loan spread over 34 days would actually cost me £543. Those numbers won’t even register on the scale of some of the borrowing it carries out, so its no surprise to see its pre-tax profits hit £85.5m last year.

Wonga, whose annualised interest rates have reached 5,853 per cent, is unapologetic.

Founder and chief executive Errol Damelin has dismissed criticism from the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Reverend Justin Welby, who called for measures to be introduced to tackle the problem.

The Northern Echo has backed the former Bishop of Durham’s work, which wants to expand credit unions as a way of offering a low-price alternative to payday loans.

The archbishop’s campaign got off to an unfortunate start when it was revealed the Church of England had invested in Wonga. However, he’s now ordered a review and is gathering much support. It will be interesting to see how unrepentent Mr Damelin will be if it continues to grow.

THE announcement of a deal to rescue hydraulic hose maker Linden Group and save 26 North-East jobs is very welcome news.

You only have to look at the company’s history and its work with clients including Nissan to understand the gravitas it carried within the industry.

But, like so many firms before it, the economic climate proved unforgiving and left the 32-year-old firm facing the prospect of being wound up.

As new director Fintan Ennis rightly says, there is still a lot of hard work to do.

While some workers have kept their posts, some were made redundant. Mr Ennis says the firm is now looking for five engineers as it looks to strengthen its position. Let’s hope some of those workers who lost their posts are among the recruits.

FINALLY, it gives me great pleasure to report some real sporting success.

Forget The Ashes, Andy Murray’s Wimbledon heroics and the purgatory of the football transfer window circus, I can confirm The Northern Echo’s cricket team has capped the lot.

On Sunday, our ragtag outfit took on the Evening Gazette and triumphed by 41 runs to regain the Alistair Griffin Lemon Curd Trophy.

It might not be England against Australia, but it’s always a sweet feeling to win.

However, I’m relieved we don’t have to celebrate by sampling our winnings, which were made by the former BBC Fame Academy contestant. That lemon curd is at least three years old now and its vibrant yellow hue is long gone.