The family of a New Addington man who took his own life after struggling with debt has taken has taken a campaign for action on the bailiff industry to Parliament.

Jerome Rogers, of Kennelwood Crescent, took his own life in March 2016 after being visited by a bailiff over a debt from two Camden Council penalty charges he had not paid.

On Tuesday, his mum Tracey and brother Nat, along with Croydon Central MP Sarah Jones went to Parliament.

They met privately with Justice Minister Lucy Frazer, before presenting to a cross-party group of MPs.

The meetings come ahead of BBC docu-drama Killed by my debt, set to air on BBC1 on Wednesday (July 18) at 9pm.

Jerome worked in the gig economy as a motorcycle courier, transporting blood between London hospitals.

When the 20-year-old was unable to pay two traffic fines of £65 each, fees and charges rapidly escalated the debt to more than £1,000 and became unmanageable.

When he could not pay the fine his motorbike was clamped by bailiffs, meaning he could not work.

His family, along with Ms Jones, are campaigning for legislative change to improve the operation and supervision of bailiffs and private sector bailiff firms.

Ms Jones said both meetings went well and the government has agreed to look at the problem and call for evidence this autumn.

“We have all agreed to make this a big priority and push as much as we can to change things,” she said.

“We want different levels of action to set the boundaries of what bailiffs can do and make sure people can complain about them.”

She is also calling on local councils to stop using bailiffs and introduce a payment plan for people like Jerome who cannot afford to pay straight away.

“Alongside our calls for a bailiff regulator I’m calling on local councils to stop using bailiffs for people who are financially vulnerable such as those on Council Tax Support, something already being done by over 20 councils.

“I’m also calling for councils to stop using Newlyn Bailiffs in light of their conduct in this case.”

The MP added that she will be speaking to Croydon Council about the issue but said the council has taken ‘positive steps’, including trying to bring bailiffs in house.

Tracey Rogers agreed that payment plans should be offered to people.

She said: “Our family can never turn back the clock.

“The heavy-handed actions of bailiffs made a reasonable person like Jerome feel like there was no way out.

“The government needs to take action so the circumstances around Jerome’s death can never happen again.

“Affordable payment plans should be something you are offered, not a privilege you have to beg for. If Ministers listen to why bailiffs need to be regulated, perhaps other families can be spared the hurt that we’ve been caused.”

A Croydon Council spokesman said: “Croydon has safeguards to ensure we are collecting from the people who can pay what they owe but don’t. Those who can’t pay due to financial difficulties are referred to a range of support and advice services.

“We use enforcement only as a last resort, and the council requires all its in-house and external bailiffs to follow a strict code of conduct so their work in Croydon is carried out professionally, courteously and sensitively. If Parliament amends the regulations, we will ensure we continue to comply with them.”