Citizens Advice has urged TV watchers to take a stand against payday lenders and report irresponsible advertising to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

The charity’s comments come as a new report from the Children’s Society finds that more than three-quarters of parents want payday loan adverts to be banned from being aired before the 9pm watershed.

Gillian Guy, chief executive of Citizens Advice, said: “It is utterly unacceptable for payday lenders to be running adverts that appeal to children. More and more adverts are appearing on music channels and TV stations popular with teenagers and young people as lenders try to entice the next generation of borrowers.

“Citizens Advice Bureaux up and down the country are helping people get their finances back on track after they’ve been devastated by payday loans which have been bumped up by high interest rates and fees.

“We want TV viewers to take a stand against the payday loan industry by reporting irresponsible or misleading advertising. The FCA needs to introduce a clear and concise health warning on payday loan marketing which spells out the consequences of taking out a payday loan and to stop payday lenders targeting children with advertising.”