Trustees for the new Sherbet Foundation – which will help people affected by debt action – held their first meeting recently.

The Foundation was dreamt up by Claire Sandbrook Chief Executive of Shergroup, the UK’s leading enforcement agency and legal services company.

Mrs Sandbrook felt the enforcement industry could do more to help individuals and families who have lost everything through debt and she felt this new Foundation, which is applying for charitable status, could help.

At their first meeting the five-strong trustees laid down the criteria of who is likely to benefit and how they go about accessing that help.

Mrs Sandbrook said: “Once the Foundation receives its charitable status it will give financial support to those in need. It may seem at odds with our profession, but we believe that High Court enforcement officers, like ourselves, and county court bailiffs have a duty to do more to help people in vulnerable situations.”

“We will be doing more than just visit the homes and businesses of people in debt. We can use our unique vantage point to recognise genuine hardship and offer some form of assistance.”

“Debt is a national issue and is set to get much worse, so we feel there is a genuine need for this kind of support.”