DEBT centre manager Sue Bright is giving up her bed for a week to raise awareness of the dangers of spending too much in the run-up to Christmas.

Mum-of-three Mrs Bright, 45, from Wallingford, helped to launch the town’s debt centre at the beginning of the year.

It is run by the charity Christians Against Poverty and backed by the Ridgeway Community Church, Wallingford Baptist Church and St Mary’s Church in Cholsey.

Staff and volunteers at the centre at the Ridgeway church in St Mary’s Street offer clients debt advice and work closely with the town’s foodbank.

For a week from Sunday, Mrs Bright and 35 supporters in the town will make sacrifices to raise funds for the charity and keep centres running.

Mrs Bright, who lives with husband David and daughters Naomi, 13, Bethany, 10 and Eve, nine, said the Week Without campaign would highlight the challenges faced by some families in the run-up to Christmas.

She added: “I am giving up my bed to sleep on the floor in a sleeping bag and my family will also be going without heating for a week. The money we save on heating will be donated to the charity with any additional sponsorship money we raise.

“Some families feel pressured into trying to buy a good Christmas, spend too much on their credit cards, and when the January bill drops they realise they are in trouble.

“Thirty five members of three churches are giving up certain luxuries – the vicar of St Mary’s, the Rev Andrew Petit is going without electric lights while one teenager has pledged not to do his hair all week.

“But it’s not just spending too much at Christmas that can lead people into financial difficulties. Crises like relationships breaking down, or sudden ill health, could also lead to unmanageable debts.”

Mrs Bright said she hoped the week-long initiative would raise at least £1,000 for the charity, and added that there were pockets of poverty in the Wallingford area, including some homes in the north of the town and in Berinsfield.

She said: “There are less affluent areas which have a high proportion of social housing.

“South Oxfordshire is a comparatively wealthy part of the UK, but the cost of housing is high and if people don’t have enough disposable income their finances can easily get out of control.

“We want to remind people that we are here and can help at this time of year. Debt can affect any family, regardless of levels of income.”

For further information, call 0800 328 0006 or visit the website capuk.org.