“It’s awful, it’s like a weight on me constantly, and no matter what I do or what I try to do, I always end up back here.”
Shannon, a 27-year-old mum of one, feels isolated by her money worries, but she is far from alone.
Her town, Great Yarmouth, has the third highest rate of people needing debt support in England and Wales, according to government figures.
In March 2026, 29.1% of people aged 16 to 65 in the Norfolk coastal town were on Universal Credit, compared with 18.4% for the county as a whole, and 19.2% in England.
Unexpected expenses, such as a broken washing machine, are a constant worry for Shannon [Shaun Whitmore/BBC]
Shannon first got into debt about 10 years ago when she had to borrow money to buy expensive boots for her job as…