Charity issues repossession warning

Homelessness charity Shelter has warned that it may not have the resources to deal with the amount of people requiring help in the new year.

Alluding to previous research which suggests repossessions are set to increase in 2008, the charity’s chief executive Adam Sampson said there has been a “massive increase” in the number of people seeking Shelter’s help with mortgage problems.

He also indicated that there needs to be an independent advice service established in order to help people affected by such issues.

“The government, mortgage lenders and the Financial Services Authority must take responsibility and start repairing the broken state safety net to ensure that if people face difficulty, there is protection in place and somewhere to turn for advice,” said Mr Sampson.

Earlier this month, the chief executive welcomed Caroline Flint into her new role of housing minister, saying Shelter was looking forward to working with her as she sets about delivering “much needed” new houses.