Irresponsible lending and aggressive marketing to individuals are to blame for the rise in the number of repossessions in the UK, according to Vincent Cable, the Liberal Democrat shadow chancellor says National Homebuyers.

Mr Cable was reacting to figures which show possession orders are up one per cent in the first three months of the year, while newly released data from the government's insolvency service shows the number of people going bankrupt hit record levels between January and March.

For the first time, more than 30,000 Britons went bankrupt in a three month period - equivalent to more than 300 being declared insolvent a day.

However, Mr Cable warned that affordability concerns were likely to get worse.

"This increase in personal insolvencies to a staggering quarterly record, alongside the equally dramatic rise in home repossession claims, demonstrates the severity of Britain's personal debt crisis," Mr Cable commented.

"These figures equate to more than 300 people being declared insolvent every day - a truly astonishing number. But these are not freak figures. Sadly, they are likely to get even worse, especially with families feeling a further pinch on their budgets when interest rates almost certainly rise next week.

We contacted the UK's leading property purchasing company National Homebuyers and spoke to managing director Julian King who advised: "We are very concerned at the number of people contacting us who are currently in arrears and who are in financial difficulty, the good news is we are able to assist and in most cases we can purchase their property clearing any debts and allowing our clients to remain living in their home as tenants which is a welcome relief to those facing repossession and eviction from their homes."

If you would like to contact National Homebuyers and see how they can help you then you can either call them on 0870 979 0900 or visit www.nationalhomebuyers.co.uk.

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by Charlotte Burrows (few years ago!)