The Islington Gazette report:
The town hall called in bailiffs on debt-ridden residents and businesses more than more than 14,000 times last year.
Figures from a Freedom of Information request seen by the Gazette show more than 11,500 people and around 2,500 businesses were referred to debt collection agencies by Islington Council in the financial year 2012/13 – up 13 per cent on the previous year.
The numbers, relating to council tax and business rate debts, equate to around one out of every eight households in the borough – and one in four companies.