The number of people at risk of losing their homes in Kent has risen.

But it could be worse - you could live in Norfolk!

The Ministry of Justice(MoJ)revealed 1,383 mortgage possession claims were lodged in Kent during April to June - an increase of five per cent over the same period a year ago.

But the county bucked the trend in the south east and nationally, which saw a 13 per cent and 17 per cent jump respectively in claims.

Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Suffolk were the worst hit in the South East, with a 29 per cent increase.

Experts blame the rises on people struggling with higher mortgage repayments.

In Dartford, for example, 369 mortgage possession claims were made from April to June – the highest in the county, followed by Medway with 362.

The fewest number of claims was in Tunbridge Wells, with 88. But that was a whopping 22 per cent increase on last year!

Tony Mott, director of A.S.K About Mortgages in Dartford, which has seen a 50 per cent drop in people taking out a mortgage compared to this time last year, said: “People are now coming off fixed-rate mortgages of four to 4.5 per cent that they had two years ago to variable rates of six to 7.5 per cent, which is a massive jump for them and they can’t afford the repayments.”

Dartford, which includes the Gravesend area, also had the highest number of landlord possession orders, which went up by nearly a third this year from April to June compared to the same period last year.

But Ashford actually saw a huge drop in repossession claims - falling by 21 per cent! There was a further 19 per cent decrease in landlord possession actions during April to June compared to last year.

Steve Osbourne, director of TMC Kent, mortgage specialists, stressed this trend in Ashford is because there is still demand for housing in the town. He said: “As a company we have not seen a downturn in the number of purchases going through.” Listen to more of his comments here >>