Small firms having difficulty accessing finance through banks are turning to different sources of credit, with pawnbrokers reporting a significant increase in small business customers as banks progressively decrease lending.

The National Pawnbrokers Association have reported that the number of small company owners using their services are greatly increasing due to the current scarcity of credit.

"The number of people coming to us to keep their own little businesses afloat has risen dramatically," said Jim Tannahill, director of London Pawnbrokers Suttons & Robertsons.

This information follows a figures recently released figures by The British Bankers Association showing that the number of new banking relationships made between small firms and banks decreased throughout 2008.