If his girlfriend had not come to find him, Dale, a recovering problem gambler from Cumbria, believes he would have ended his life.

“The rent wasn’t paid, there was no money in my account,” he said. “I really felt that I wanted to kill myself. My stuff was packed and I had my note written out.”

Dale, 32, a father of two who works as a chef, lost £6,500 in 36 hours after relapsing into gambling last May. “Everything was right in front of me, all I had to do was click a few buttons,” he said.

His betting escalated after a difficult break-up, and eventually he was stealing from his new partner to fund his gambling in online casinos and spending money put aside