MORE than 230 homes in Southampton and Winchester are now the subject of legal action from mortgage lenders after families couldn't keep up with their repayments, the Daily Echo can reveal.

The number of repossession orders granted by the courts - allowing banks and building societies to seize properties - has also surged from 50 in the second quarter of last year to 91 in the same period this year. It is all part of a worrying wider picture of Hampshire people struggling to cope with a rising mountain of debt.

In the three months to June this year, the government's insolvency service recorded 485 personal bankruptcies in Southampton. That is a 61 per cent increase on the 301 recorded in the same period in 2005.

Meanwhile, mortgage lenders launched 237 actions against borrowers in Southampton and Winchester who failed to keep up repayments on their homes between April and June this year - up from 222 in the same period last year. Eastleigh MP Chris Huhne said the 61 per cent rise in personal bankruptcies in the Southampton area - more than double the 26 per cent national increase - was a sign of mounting stress in the local economy.

Responding to the statistics, published by the Department for Constitutional Affairs, Mr Huhne said: "These figures show very worrying trends, as there is a growing number of people in south Hampshire who are finding it harder and harder to cope financially. The combination of rising unemployment and record levels of personal debt is spelling catastrophe for many hard working families.

"While mortgage repossessions remain below the levels seen in the early 1990s there are clearly big problems ahead. While not all the cases will result in repossession they give a strong indication of the extreme difficulties facing many households."

Mr Huhne said last year there were nearly a quarter of a million calls to the National Debtline nationwide and the Citizen's Advice Bureau handled over a million problems relating to personal debt.

The Liberal Democrat said: "Individuals must be made fully aware of the risks that are involved and of the relevant insurance products available when they take out a mortgage.

"The latest rise in interest rates, on top of large rises in council tax and energy bills will only add further strain to family budgets."