Lewisham fourth in national repossession league

[We accidentally ran this story yesterday, ahead of the embargo, and took it down again. We're allowed to write about it now, so here it is]

Brockley Kate has sent us some stats from the housing and homelessness charity Shelter, who claim that Lewisham is the fourth worst hot spot for home respossessions in the country, just behind Dagenham and Redbridge, Knowsley and Thurrock, with 6.51 possession claims per 1,000 homes in the borough. This compares with an average of 3.5 across England.

The figures follow reports that Lewisham would be in the top ten worst affected boroughs by housing benefit cuts.

Shelter commented:

“If you are struggling with mortgage arrears, you may be able to negotiate with your mortgage provider and avoid repossession, so seek advice from organisations like Shelter as soon as your problems start. "Visit shelter.org.uk/advice or call free on 08088 004 444.”