Curb lending, says wife of suicide man

THE WIDOW of a man who killed himself after running up credit card debts of more than £130,000 today called for a clampdown on lenders.

Wendy Cullen, 65, wept as she said her husband's debts spiralled because of crippling interest charges.

At Christmas, her husband Richard, 65, a mechanic, was bombarded with calls from 20 lenders demanding payments. He had 23 credit cards.

Mrs Cullen urged the Government to stop companies offering loans to customers in serious debt. She said: 'They should never have let this happen.' She was unaware of the scale of his debt.

Mr Cullen fell into debt after his wife was diagnosed with breast cancer and he took time off work to care for her.

After his death she discovered hundreds of card bills hidden in cupboards. Besides statements from Mastercard, Visa, Mint and American Express was one from Tesco credit for £10,000.