A free money advice course offering people help to control their finances is launching at North Bradley Baptist Church on Thursday, January 30.

Catherine Haddow will be running the Christians Against Poverty (CAP) Money courses at the Westbury Road church, every Thursday, and they will run on a three-week cycle. The sessions, which will begin at 7.30pm, last around an hour-and-a-half.

There are more than 1,100 of the courses taking place across the country, but this is the first time the North Bradley church has offered the workshop. Mrs Haddow, who moved to Great Hinton in August, has previously run the courses in London.

Mother of three, Mrs Haddow, CAP Money coach, said: “Lots of people are keen to manage their money, but often don’t have the basic skills, so this course is a good place to start.

“If you’re already managing your finances well, you can always improve.”

The CAP Money courses focus on developing budgeting skills and for those in severe financial difficulties there are referrals to the charity Christians Against Poverty which can provide continued long-term support.

Mrs Haddow’s husband Richard and North Bradley Baptist Church’s pastor Ben Midgley will be attending some of the workshops to provide some additional support.

Mr Midgley said: “People seem to think that money is a taboo subject, especially in church, but it seems to me that it is a real evil to see people struggling financially rather than being able to save for the future, it brings so much strain and unhappiness.”

Mental health charity, Wiltshire Mind, is also running a debt advice course in Trowbridge, with a new workshop beginning at the United Church, in Church Street, on Thursday, February 13. The sessions will run between 11am and 1pm, every Thurs-day until March 13.

For more information about the CAP Money course, call Mrs Haddow on 07900 256937, and to find out more about Wiltshire Mind’s classes, call 01225 706532.