Dramatic rise in home repossessions
The number of people who lost their homes has soared by more than 50% during the first quarter of the year.
A total of 12,800 properties were repossessed by first-charge lenders during the three months to the end of March, up from 8,500 a year earlier and 10,400 during the previous quarter, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders.
But despite the steep jump in people losing their homes, the group said its forecast of 75,000 repossessions during 2009 now looked pessimistic, and it expects to revise the figure downwards.
