THE Bishop of Jarrow followed in the footsteps of Prime Minister Tony Blair and his wife, Cherie, yesterday when he signed up for a saving and loans co-operative.
The Right Reverend John Pritchard performed a formal opening ceremony at a collection point for the South West Durham Credit Union.
Volunteers have been trained to run the service from a base in the Woodhouse Close Church Community Centre, in Proudfoot Drive, Bishop Auckland.
Members save in a community pot and can draw low-interest loans.
Bishop Pritchard said: "Credit unions have an important role to play in today's society. We have the biggest gap between rich and poor in our country and 20 per cent of our children live in families where the income is less than half the national average."
The Blairs and Government Chief Whip Hilary Armstrong joined the credit union during a visit to Trimdon last year.
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