LIBRARY, community centre and other council-run websites may have adverts for and links to payday loan companies banned under a new crackdown being considered by borough leader Kate Hollern.

Posters promoting them may also be banned from bus stops and bill boards owned by Blackburn with Darwen.

Coun Hollern promised to step up action against the short-term, high-cost lenders in the wake of the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby's attack on them.

She said the borough was examining the steps other councils were taking, including keeping adverts for the payday loan companies off their websites, billboards and bus stops, with a view to following suit.

The Wensley Fold Labour councillor is lobbying government for new powers for councils to prevent or limit the number of lenders in an area.

Earlier this month she, Blackburn MP Jack Straw and Cathedral Canon Andrew Hindley criticised The Cash Store in Railway Road for offering 20 pence pieces in a ‘marketing ploy’ to attract customers.

Coun Hollern backed the Archbishop’s call for people in financial trouble to use ethical lenders like credit unions. The Most Rev Welby hit out at payday lenders, pledged to force them out of business and said the church and credit unions could ally to provide a better alternative.

Coun Hollern said: “I wholeheartedly back the Archbishop's comments. The church is indeed speaking for the poor.

“I am very worried about these so-called payday lenders. It seems they are actively pursuing the vulnerable. You could almost say they are preying on them.

“We are looking at what other authorities have done to tackle this issue to see what we can do locally.

“Plymouth City Council has blocked access to websites offering payday loans on its entire computer network, including at libraries and community centres.

“It has also stopped such lenders from advertising on billboards and bus stops.

“Many families and residents are facing extreme hardship in Blackburn with Darwen which has high levels of poverty.

“Payday lenders may provide quick and easy credit - but the true costs are often hidden. The interests are immorally high and people find themselves in a circle of debt and misery.”