Councils in united call for gambling regulation

Three Surrey councils have joined 40 from across the country to call for reform of gambling laws.

Runnymede, Spelthorne and Surrey Heath have signed the open letter to the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport.

A woman who tried to take her life after losing £500,000 through a gambling addiction, has backed the calls for reform.

It comes as plans for a new gambling facility in Ashford, Surrey, have been approved on appeal, despite opposition from local people.

The letter has been endorsed by the all party parliamentary group on gambling reform.

It wants councils to have more power to reject gambling premises applications, a ban on gambling advertising and more funding for research into gambling addiction.

Michelle Singlehurst from Camberley took to gambling as a way to beat social isolation while caring for an elderly relative.

She said: "I effectively lost absolutely everything and harmed people that I love.

"It can very quickly turn into something that can destroy your life.

"I stopped after an overdose and three weeks in hospital."

She told BBC Radio Surrey she had sympathy with councils who she said "can't say no" to applications.

"They can say 'you can't open 24 hours', but six months down the line if nothing's gone wrong effectively that company can come back and say 'can we now open 24 hours, please?'

"I don't think it's right that councils and residents don't have a stronger say in what happens in their own towns."

The application by Astro Property (MK) Ltd for a new centre in the ground floor of a former bank in Ashford was approved on appeal by a planning inspector.

Hundreds of letters of objection had been sent, with Spelthorne's MP Lincoln Jopp also opposing the plan.

The site will not now be open 24/7, and the operator still has to seek a license from Spelthorne Borough Council.

Astro Property and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport have both been contacted for comment.

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