DURHAM'S credit union will open a new collection point in the city centre next week.

St Nicholas Church, in Market Place, will be open on Fridays, between 12.30pm and 2pm, from Friday, May 2.

It will be the Durham City and District Credit Union's third collection point. People can pay in on Wednesday mornings at Community House, Holly Park, Ushaw Moor, and at the Pelaw View Community Centre, on the Sherburn Road estate.

The union, for people who live or work in the Durham City district, opened earlier this year and has more than 60 members.

Credit unions are regulated by the Financial Services Authority and are co-operatively-run savings and loan organisations. They are increasingly being seen by the Government as a way of promoting its policies of "social inclusion" by offering people with small incomes affordable alternatives to commercial banks and money lenders.

However, even people in work earning good money can be credit union members.

A union spokesman said: "Members pay only £1 to join and receive a passbook that records the balances of savings and any loans.

"The credit union offers people the chance of building up a small pot of savings for a rainy day and use that as a basis to take small loans with low interest payments."

Credit union members who build up a proven savings record can take advantage of annual interest rates, capped by law, of 12.68 per cent, much lower than some commercial lenders.

The union will hold its annual meeting on Monday in Durham's Gala Theatre, at 7.15pm.