A TRAILBLAZING service in Stanley has helped residents deal with over £2m in debt arrears over the last year.

The Advice in County Durham Partnership has also helped people access almost £900,000 in benefits they did not know they were entitled to.

The service, which is delivered at The Venue, near the town centre, is funded by Stanley Town Council, which invests £57,000 per year to support the ground-breaking project.

The advice hub is managed and delivered by Development Officer Sam Scotchbrook, and a team of 30 volunteers and professionals which includes debt management experts, benefits and welfare rights advisors and energy bill specialists.

Ms Scotchbrook said: “At the moment, this service is a one-off. There’s not another like it anywhere in the region and maybe even the country.

“It is a collaborative service which is possible thanks to investment from the town council, which the explosion of need for immediate help for desperate people either sinking in debt or coping with, in some cases, extreme poverty.

“Our team has helped people out of all kinds of financial holes with debt, energy bills, mortgage and loan repayments, rent arrears, health and wellbeing, you name it and we will help them come up with a manageable solution.”

In the last year, Advice in County Durham (AiCD) has helped over 1,000 people write-off or put in place management plans for £2,124,482 worth of debt, helped Stabley residents access £889,350 in benefit and welfare payments, handed out over 1,100 food vouchers to 2,246 beneficiaries and over 520 fuel vouchers.

Councillor Les Timbey, leader of Stanley Town Council, said: “The council’s innovation was not to fund an advice service, councils have always done this.

“What we did was challenge all the partners to deliver a one-stop shop service which met the needsof our residents rather than the aims of the individual partners.”