Sorry, COCO and sirrah are correct. Shorts do indeed pay a small amount of interest.
CFD's are certainly an option but CGT is payable on the gains. CGT currently is not payable on bets.
Etrade may do cfd's on the stock and CMC may do sb's.
I prefer CMC to IG Index but CMC don't cover half the stocks that IG cover.
I have no idea what you mean by the 'ethical side' of shorting, but that probably only illustrates my own lack of moral fibre. Surely, selling a stock that you own after it has risen is exactly the same as shorting it. Do you never sell?
It's the psychological side of shorting that gets me.