Home seizures in Britain soaring

LONDON, Sept. 28 (UPI) -- Home repossession rates in England are soaring amid a flood of foreclosures, an investigation by the Sunday Mirror found.

The British newspaper reported the number of English families losing their homes at its highest since the early 1990s.

The latest government figures reveal local courts have granted 28,658 repossession orders in the second quarter of the year, 24 percent higher than the same period in 2007 and up 4 percent from the previous three months.

In Birmingham, considered Britain's repossessions capital, had 2,182 homes seized already this year, up 50 percent from last year. In Liverpool, 1,225 homes have been repossessed, up 47 percent from last year.

"All lenders are saying repossession is a last resort, but judging from the increased number of hearings, we question whether that is actually happening," said Malcolm Hurlston, spokesman for Consumer Credit Counseling Service.

"It's hard to reconcile the soft words of the Council of Mortgage Lenders, which represents lenders, with the increased numbers of repossession cases we are seeing."