Growing numbers of cash-strapped Bradford residents face having their homes repossessed amid a climate of rising interest rates and soaring house prices.

New figures showing a 53 per cent increase in repossession orders in Bradford have sparked fears that more homebuyers are over-stretching themselves to get on the property ladder.

The trend has been described as "alarming" and market conditions are set to get even tougher for borrowers, who face higher mortgage repayments after the Bank of England increased interest rates to five per cent yesterday.

Now MPs and bank managers across the district are urging borrowers to talk to their mortgage lender as soon as they hit financial difficulties, to try to strike an agreement before the repossession process starts.

Mortgage lenders started 344 repossession actions in Bradford County Court between July and September - a nine per cent increase on the figure of 315 in the same period of 2005.

In that three-month period, the number of repossession orders actually made in Bradford increased from 152 to 232, with mortgage lenders - banks, building societies and private firms - given permission to seize 53 per cent more properties.

In Keighley there was a six per cent decrease in the number of actions entered, from 63 to 59, but there was an increase in the number of orders made - with 43 properties being seized, compared with 38 the previous year.

The figures released by the Department of Constitutional Affairs do not reveal the actual number of repossessions because a person can still settle a debt and save their home even after an order has been made.

Bradford West Labour MP Marsha Singh said continuing house price rises meant people were taking financial risks they could not afford.

He said: "The banks have got to be more alert to people's income before lending money. People are stuck in the problem and with house prices continuing to rise they are having to over-stretch themselves and people need to be given help and the right advice."

Mortgage lenders have come in for strong criticism this week after a study showed that nearly a third now allowed homebuyers to borrow for 40 years or more, with Tesco Personal Finance offering 52-year mortgages.

The study, by MoneyExpert.com, also revealed that a number of lenders, including the Yorkshire Building Society, now allowed people to borrow up to five times their salary.

Bradford North Labour MP Terry Rooney said some of the deals being offered by mortgage lenders were "stupid". He said: "Lenders need to be a lot more responsible, and, with the rise in house prices, they need to be extremely careful that housebuyers can actually afford to pay.

"People who get into trouble should get in touch with their lender as soon as possible so a repossession can be avoided."

Iain Cornish, chief executive of the Yorkshire Building Society, said: "Borrowers should go to their mortgage lender as soon as they are in difficulty. Nine out of ten times we can come to an arrangement because the last thing we want is for people to lose their homes.

"We are not repossessing any more homes now than we were a year ago.

"Our levels of arrears are low because we take a very prudent approach to lending and we always advise people to make sure the mortgage they take out is something they will be able to afford, not just now but if there's an interest rates rise."

A spokesman for the Bradford & Bingley said it allowed home buyers to borrow for 40 years but age restrictions were in place for such mortgages.

The spokesman said: "It's not in the interests of customers or us if we have to repossess."

James Robinson, Skipton Building Society's Bradford branch manager, said: "We are still committed to affordable lending, so we are not doing multiple increases like the Abbey, which is offering borrowers five times their salary."

Tina Morrison, of Bradford-based charity Christians Against Poverty, said: "We try to help people control their finances to avoid repossessions.

"It's a devastating experience for anyone who loses their home."

Bradford South Labour MP Gerry Sutcliffe said the number of people having homes repossessed in Bradford was "alarming". But he said the Govern-ment's Consumer Credit Act had switched the balance of responsibility from the borrower to the lender.

e-mail: will.kilner@bradford.newsquest.co.uk

'I was in hopeless situation'

First-time buyer Richard Priestley spent months fearing his home would be seized after he fell behind with the mortgage payments.

The 27-year-old appeared at Bradford County Court this week after the Kensington Mortgage Company began a mortgage repossession action.

Mr Priestley, of Barden Avenue, Buttershaw, said the judge gave him a final warning but allowed him to keep the home he shares with his girlfriend Stacey Fulbirg and his three children.

He said: "It's been a worrying time and I was afraid I would lose my home.

"My problems all started when I had an accident at work and I missed a payment.

"I had four weeks off after I slipped on a chemical spillage and injured myself in the yard at the haulage company where I was working.

"I couldn't afford to keep the payments up because I was only being paid £56 a week sick pay.

"That's when they started putting charges on to the mortgage and the interest kept going up and up and up. It felt like a hopeless situation.

"The court has suspended my arrears until my insurance is sorted out. They said we could keep the house if we started paying the mortgage again on December 1. The judge was okay, but this was a final warning."