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One in 59 Wolverhampton homes at risk of repossession

As many as one in 59 homes in Wolverhampton are under threat of being repossessed, it has emerged.

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Wolverhampton has the highest claim rate in England outside of London, according to housing charity Shelter.

Unemployment and the high cost of living have been blamed for pushing families into financial problems.

Newham in East London has the highest number of homes at risk of repossession at one in every 35.

The leader of Wolverhampton City Council, Councillor Roger Lawrence, said the figures showed residents in Wolverhampton were suffering financially and added that the authority was doing what it can to support people.

"It is an indicator relating to poverty and deprivation. No one can deny that Wolverhampton is one of the areas that suffers from those things, so you would expect higher figures than for Oxfordshire, for example.

"The council has responded to the current problems people are facing with welfare with extensive work with the Citizens Advice Bureau to try to ensure people who have debt problems are supported.

"We are doing what we can to try to alleviate the problem.

"From time to time we have taken action to deal with people who do not pay rent, because there is no magic pot of money, but we try to deal with it sensitively."

The figures cover both private and social housing and are based on Ministry of Justice statistics and 2011 census data. They are based on applications made to courts by lenders and landlords to repossess houses.

Wolverhampton is followed closely by Nottingham, Salford, Peterborough and Luton where each area has one in every 63 homes are at risk of being repossessed.

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