The borough's cash exchange shops have seen a rise in trade as scores of customers look to pawn or sell off household items to make ends meet.

Ramsdens in Prince Edward Road, South Shields, has been kept busy by customers handing over second-hand gold and jewellery in exchange for cash.

Bosses at the pawnbroker's, part of a national chain based in Middlesbrough, say the rise in custom is down to the economic downturn, combined with the rising cost of gold.

A spokeswoman for Ramsdens said: "Pawnbroking has always been a solution for short-term cashflow needs in any economic climate, and is relatively recession neutral.

"However, the barriers that have been created in regards to access to credit by banks has widened the customer base for pawnbroking, with new customers seeking to take advantage of our simple-to-use facilities.

"The increase in the price of gold has enabled customers to borrow more cash against their jewellery items than before, as well as enabling thousands of customers to raise cash from unwanted and broken jewellery."

Complete Entertainment Exchange (CeX) – which pays cash for second-hand laptops, mobile phones, computer consoles and games before selling them on – opened in King Street, South Shields, at the end of last year, and is already building up a sizeable customer base.

CeX franchisee Raf Ali said: "The current economic climate certainly hasn't hurt our business, but we've always thrived, as people love the convenience of selling to CeX with fixed prices and same-day cash.

"CeX offers a way to recycle unwanted phones, gadgets and games into cash, or to exchange them for a complementary range of entertainment products.

"We've long been the place gadget enthusiasts sell the old stuff to so they can raise some cash to help them upgrade."