‘The first time I placed a bet I lost a tenner, the next time I won £72, the third time I lost £19. I was a winner. I found I could supplement my teaching salary by gambling online in lunch breaks. I was on a high.” Nick now lives under a tarpaulin along the canal in west London. “I maxed out my credit cards and remortgaged the house, nicked petty cash from the staff room, stole from my wife, even my children’s pocket money,” he says. “I’m a maths teacher, I understand risk, but I lost everything. The gambling companies kept targeting me.”

A local GP, on their daily dog walk, finally persuaded Nick to seek help. Others have been less fortunate. At least 450