It's like living in a third world country

We hear tales of heartache from the people buying, selling and working in pawnbrokers as the cost of living crisis surges

- LOUISA GREGSON

A LARGE CeX store, its windows crammed with cut-price gadgets and banners boasting of ‘buying stuff for cash’ seems unnaturally quiet

The last time I visited this shop in Bury, just before Christmas, the store was steady with shoppers desperate to save money on their Christmas presents.

Many people suggested to me that the store would see an influx of customers post lockdown. But as food prices, petrol and energy bills continue to rocket, it seems even bargains and second-hand goods are becoming a luxury people just can’t justify buying, as shoppers struggled to pay full price for consumer items.

Auditor David Lord, 50, is among the handful of customers in-store and comes out clutching a few Bluray DVDs. He shows them to me saying: “These Blu-rays would cost £30 to £40 at HMV, here they are £1 each.

“Online they would have been £7 or £8 each, so that is the difference and I have a receipt for these items, so I could take them back if I needed.”

I ask if his bargain hunting is fuelled by the surging cost of living prices and he nods miserably, “It’s terrible,” he says. “Gas, electricity and the cost of food is going up. I have noticed food at Aldi going up by 10p and 15p - soon they will be close to the prices in other supermarkets.

“But wages are not going up - and we have to choose: do we eat or heat? - it is squeeze, squeeze, squeeze. It’s like living in a third-world country,” he says, shaking his head in despair.