New figures revealed by The Ministry of Justice show that repossessions are on the up in the UK.

In the first quarter of this year, repossessions were up by 17% compared with the same period last year: that's 27,530 repossession orders in total.

Mortgage borrowers are braced for the worst this year, with the Council of Mortgage Lenders predicting up to 45,000 repossessions. Indeed, given the huge number of repossession orders this quarter, the CML's predictions may be a little on the conservative side.

Nicola O'Reilly from the National Consumer Council said: "Lenders must do more to help home owners before they get into debt by targeting vulnerable customers, such as those coming off fixed rate deals. We would like to see them offer a range of tailored solutions to help borrowers in difficulty, and not rush to use third party debt collection agencies or court action."

Roy Berry, Director at The Mortgage Provider Ltd, agrees "there are a number of things a lender can do to help: agree to change you over to interest only or agree to defer payments for a defined period, for instance. It's important that you enter into a dialogue with your lender if this becomes an issue; if you use a mortgage broker, call them for advice"