As payday lender Wonga announces £35m losses, the Labour party have said they are going to crack down on these "legal loansharks" if they win the general election next month.

Debt campaigner Stella Creasy, who leads the party nationally on the issue, shared her concerns with staff at Medway Credit Union yesterday.

Miss Creasy, Labour's parliamentary candidate for Walthamstow, visited the office on the top floor of the Pentagon Centre, Chatham, and spoke to the volunteers who help local people get out of debt.

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She said: "I wanted to come and see for myself some of the issues they are working with, talk to some of the staff, get a sense of what they're struggling with and also what we can do to help them.

"In Medway there is a real issue with debt. The average amount of debt that people have is £43,000 and there are 26 payday lenders on one high street, that is huge, and it's unsustainable because it means people are getting into levels of debt that they simply can't manage."

"The average amount of debt that people have is £43,000 and there are 26 payday lenders on one high street." - Stella Creasy

Medway Credit Union are a financial co-operative which means they are owned, controlled and run by the members. This provides a pool of money from which members can apply for a loan at affordable rates.

Compared to payday lenders, credit unions offer loans with a low rate of interest and the staff work with customers to manage their repayments as well as helping them to save money.

Miss Creasy said the difference was all about their behaviour:"These legal loansharks, as I call them, are predatory. They lend to people in a way that means they get more into debt which means they have to borrow more from these companies which means that they make more profit.

"The credit union movement is all about supporting people to make good financial choices. Helping them budget, helping them understand what they can borrow, helping them pay it back and helping them save.

"I know which I'd rather have in my local community."

Watch: interview with Stella Creasy

An investigation into Medway’s money troubles was carried out by the Medway Citizens’ Advice Bureau (CAB) in a controversial partnership with payday lender Wonga nearly three years ago.

It was started because the average debt of the people coming through the CAB offices in Balmoral Road, Gillingham, was £43,000, in part due to spiralling payday lender charges.

The results of the Wonga investigation have still not be released.

Nationally, Labour want to double the levy on payday lenders whilst rapidly expanding the amount of money credit unions have. They also want to tackle logbook loans and credit card rates.

The Medway Labour Group have promised to stop the spread of payday lenders and promote fair access to credit.

To find out more about Medway Credit Union visit their website.