Government figures released yesterday show the region's county courts dealt with almost 4,000 mortgage possession claims between July 1 and September 30 this year.

More than 2,200 orders were made, giving lenders the right to apply to have the occupiers evicted.

One Yorkshire court, Huddersfield, issued more than twice as many orders as it did during the third quarter of 2007 – the second-highest increase in the country.

The figures were announced by the Ministry of Justice on the same day that the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) revealed that 11,300 homes were repossessed nationwide between July 1 and September 30.

The CML insisted repossessions were only a "last resort" and Prime Minister Gordon Brown said he was urging banks to help people keep their homes when they get into difficulties.

Huddersfield was the worst affected area in Yorkshire for the second successive quarter, seeing a 116 per cent rise in mortgage possession orders compared with the same period last year.

The town's county court also issued 138 landlord possession orders, allowing landlords to evict tenants, between June and September this year – a 45 per cent increase on the third quarter of 2007. Mortgage possession cases have soared in Bradford (a 51 per cent rise), Barnsley (49 per cent) and Great Grimsby (34 per cent).

Almost 400 home owners were threatened with repossession in Leeds, where the number of cases has risen by 30 per cent.

Shelter chief executive Adam Sampson said: "These are not just numbers, but tragic stories of people in Leeds losing their homes and facing the real prospect of homelessness this Christmas.

"Lenders may claim they are using repossessions as a last resort, but they must not pat themselves on the back too soon as both repossessions and arrears are still continuing to rise.

"There are still many severe shocks to come in the near future, including the sharp increase in unemployment, the thousands in negative equity and the frightening increase of buy-to-let mortgages that are defaulting.

"We are nowhere near out of the woods, and the Government must continue putting pressure on lenders and the courts to do everything possible to keep people in their homes."

Although 47 per cent of court orders issued were later suspended, the number of homes repossessed across the country during the third quarter of the year was 12 per cent higher than in the second quarter.

The CML said it still predicted about 45,000 repossessions in 2008 – in line with previous forecasts – but admitted the number of households in mortgage arrears by the end of the year was likely to exceed expectations.

CML director general Michael Coogan said: "Increased help with housing costs is needed for a wider range of borrowers facing unforeseen repayment difficulties where there would otherwise be little prospect of early improvement.

"Next week's Pre-Budget Report should concentrate on making much more assistance with mortgage payments available for people whose income is reduced, as help is currently far too limited."

Mr Brown said: "I am telling the banks that it is a bad thing for them to move to repossessions because people are in temporarily difficult circumstances, but they have got an asset which in time will grow in value.

"People, even if they are made unemployed for a short period of time, will be able to get jobs back, because we are building an economy that is going to be stronger in the future."

Shadow Housing Minister Grant Shapps said: "These worrying figures show that far more needs to be done to stop families being thrown on to the streets."


SOARING REPOSSESSIONS ACROSS REGION
% rise in court orders

Huddersfield 116

Bradford 51

Barnsley 49

Great Grimsby 34

Leeds 30

Doncaster 18

Hull 12

Scarborough 12

York 12

Sheffield 2

Skipton 0