"Everyone has a story to tell" in the pawn shops where business is booming.
Chris Brown, the 52-year-old director of Christopher Brown Jewellers, is a sixth generation pawnbroker, often called the world's second oldest profession. He has eight stores across the North of England, including Brown & Gold on Park Road, Toxteth, where he sells anything from Rolex watches to Xbox games and even "grandma's wedding ring".
People trade them in for cash, using the items, often of sentimental value, as collateral for quick loans, given in as little as 10 minutes. Often Chris' customers are low earners, hit hard by rising food and energy bills, but they include people hit with sudden car repair or vet bills, and high earners needing quicker and easier access to £10k than they would get at a bank, as well as people who need £20 to last until their next Universal Credit payment.
