The Council of Mortgage Lenders' data showed 11,300 homes were repossessed in the third quarter of the year. Despite the increase, the CML said it still expected about 45,000 repossessions this year.

However, the CML said the number of households in mortgage arrears by the end of the year was likely to exceed forecasts as its figures showed 168,000 households were in arrears at the end of September, 8% higher than the 155,600 at the end of June.

According to Ministry of Justice figures, 29,516 mortgage possession orders have been made in courts in England and Wales by all lenders in the third quarter, 24% higher than in the same period in 2007.

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YOUR HOME MAY BE REPOSSESSED IF YOU DO NOT KEEP UP REPAYMENTS ON YOUR MORTGAGE

However, 47% of orders were suspended and not all of them will lead to a home being repossessed.

Housing Minister Margaret Beckett said: "We are determined that households should have access to as much help as possible to cope in the tougher times ahead, and we will do everything we can to ensure repossession is always a last resort.

"The Government is taking action to protect the most vulnerable families from repossession, including a new court protocol to make sure lenders are exploring all avenues before making a claim in the courts, a £200 million mortgage rescue scheme, more free legal representation in county courts, and more free debt advice.

"Lenders need to be doing everything they can to help families facing difficulties. We are continuing to work closely with them to look at what more we can do and plan to make further announcements shortly."

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