first rung savages key worker loansThe government's scheme to provide affordable housing for key workers has largely been a failure because the maths simply does not add up, Firstrung has claimed.

The advice website has suggested that signing up for such a deal was almost equivalent to taking out a mortgage worth ten times the average income.

A desire to house nurses or other key workers earning a typical annual wage makes for a "wonderful soundbite" but little more, said Paul Holmes from Firstrung.

"The supply is sporadic, for example in parts of London, and why are people not taking it up?" the website CEO queried.

"I'll tell you for why, because they look at the costs and the combination of what you pay in mortgage and what you pay in rent and you begin to do the maths for the equity you actually receive and you're actually probably only marginally better off than if you really took a risk and got a ten time salary mortgage – which would be preposterous.

"So I think you can fool some people some of the time but on that you can't fool all of the people all of the time," Mr Holmes surmised.

Are you buying property? Compare thousands of different mortgages here

Nationwide mortgages