Kent families are feeling the repossession squeeze - with a steep increase in court orders.

Canterbury homeowners are bearing the biggest burden, with a 20 per cent increase in orders compared to last year.

Bigger bills, tougher mortgage rates, and food and fuel price hikes are placing immense pressure on cash-strapped families across the county, with some homeowners having to hand in their keys as they struggle to keep afloat.

Figures from the Ministry of Justice for the first quarter of 2008 show the number of mortgage possession claims issued by lenders, and subsequent county court orders for action, has risen overall.

In Canterbury, 159 mortgage possession claims were issued by lenders, which resulted in 116 court orders being made – a 20 per cent increase on the previous year.

Claims were up 15 per cent to 144 in Maidstone, 14 per cent to 120 in Thanet and up four per cent to a whopping 387 in Medway. Court orders at Medway and Maidstone were down on previous years.

Dartford was the only area that did not see a rise in claims or court orders, but still racked up 337 and 227 respectively.

Peter Tullett, advice work supervisor Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) Tunbridge Wells the branch had seen more people than usual, from both high and low income families, approach them with financial woes.

So far this year, CAB has dealt with 35 per cent more enquiries nationally about mortgage arrears compared to the same time in 2007, and Mr Tullett said more mortgage lenders were becoming less likely to offer good rates or any service in the face of falling house prices.

He said: “People are getting a bit panicky about all the stories in the news.

“We are now seeing the beginning of the credit crunch – it is gaining momentum as things like the cost of living, food prices, fuel and utility bills continue to rise.

“We’re seeing a few more redundancies, and more mortgage repossession cases coming through the county courts.”

Mr Tullett added that the number of mortgage repossession cases being brought before Tunbridge Wells County Court was also increasing, and that the credit crunch was not just affecting social housing or low income tenants.

He said: “People have been putting off the day of reckoning for a while now, hoping that house prices will increase for ever.”

“We can expect the cards to start falling in the next few months.”