THE FIGHT against local loan sharks will continue undeterred even though the regional taskforce will be disbanded next month, project leaders have said.

The South West Illegal Money Lending Team (IMLT), based in Bristol, is set to be absorbed into a national unit situated in Birmingham and covering the whole of England as of March 31.

The move follows an independent report conducted for the Department for Business, Innovations and Skills (BIS) which suggested larger teams were more effective and could create efficiency savings.

Since it was established in 2007 under the Labour government the South West IMLT has identified over 50 illegal lenders, arrested over 30 loan sharks and written off more than £1m of illegal debts, which victims would have been forced to pay back otherwise.

Its success has led to fears the transfer could spell the end of a local focus and leave vulnerable people facing nowhere to turn.

But Jacqui Kennedy, director of regulatory services at the Stop Loan Sharks project, said there will not be a dramatic change.

“It’s all about maximising the £5.2m investment and in this model there are fewer managers,” she said. “We will be maintaining a regional presence in the form of liason officers and they will follow up local leads. The will work in the region and it will be business as usual for them.

“The investigators will move to Birmingham and all those from the south west will join us. The south west team have done some outstanding work and we want to build on that.”

Swindon South MP Robert Buckland said: “I can understand why people may worry when an important service moves out of the area but I have been assured the funding has remained the same and this is an administrative change.”

One victim, Mike, suffered at the hands of a loan shark for twenty years before contacting the Illegal Money Lending Team. He estimates he paid back more than £90,000 and had to work three jobs to keep up with constant payments.

“I don’t want anyone to go through what I have been through,” he said. “I want people to realise that help is out there, and they should seek it before they get to the way I was.

“Contacting the Illegal Money Lending Team saved my life. They were with me every step of the way and I can’t thank them enough.”

Meanwhile the South West Scambusters unit, which targets rogue traders and scammers, is staying put at its home in Bristol after securing funding for the next two years. The budget for the team nationwide is £3.2m.

Anyone who may have been the victim of a loan shark or has information can contact the Stop Loan Sharks project on 0300 555 2222.