Pop star Cheryl Cole has come under fire from anti-debt campaigners who fear that her comments about taking out an unsecured loan may influence young adults to turn to doorstep loans or loan sharks.

The 26-year-old singer said in a recent interview that she once took out a short-term loan from a doorstep loan shark to buy trendy clothes. Cheryl said that she borrowed the cash when she was a teenager.

She said: “I got a temporary loan from the guy that comes round your house, to get myself something – some hairspray, make-up and an outfit.

“It was the latest thing from River Island. It was the top everyone wanted.”

The X Factor judge is now being criticised by anti-debt campaigners who say that her throwaway comments could influence her younger fans to take out doorstep loans and use the cash to pay for the latest fashion looks, before ending up in serious debt.

A representative from the National Debtline said: “Unfortunately, unlike in Cheryl’s case, there are thousands of people who don’t get the dream lifestyle afterwards and pay the price.”

The comments come after recent research by trade body R3 showed that there are 961,000 people in the UK who are struggling with debt problems, with 67,000 having contacted a loan shark or doorstep lender about their debts. A further 13% of those questioned also said that they had considered turning to such lenders to help with financial difficulties.

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