Home repossession orders are at an all-time high, according to figures to be released by the Ministry of Justice today. The Times understands that the court figures for the first quarter of this year will show that such orders have soared with the credit crunch.

The new court figures are predicted to be up by at least 25 per cent on the same period last year, traditionally a heavy time for mortgage repossessions as lenders avoid Christmas.

Mortgage possession claims issued by landlords could exceed 40,000, compared with 33,715 for the first quarter of 2007, and actual possession orders made by the courts could reach 30,000, compared with nearly 22,000.

The news came as the Bank of England left interest rates unchanged at 5 per cent. Last month the growth in house prices stalled for the first time since February 1996. UK house prices are 0.9 per cent lower than in April last year, according to Halifax.

The Building Societies Association gave warning that the mortgage market would not improve for two years.

Today Alliance & Leicester becomes the latest lender to charge higher rates to mortgage customers with smaller deposits. It has also repriced its mortgage range, increasing rates by between 0.2 per cent and 0.9 per cent.

The figures for repossession orders — made when a court gives permission for a claimant to apply for an eviction warrant — have been steadily rising. They do not reflect the numbers of properties repossessed, because some orders are suspended to give owners an opportunity to comply.

Sue Anderson, spokesman for the Council of Mortgage Lenders, said: “The figures are important for indicating a trend. But it must be borne in mind that the figures for court repossession orders are likely to present a far bleaker picture than we find with actual repossessions.”

She said that last year there were 95,374 court orders for mortgage repossessions; but only 27,100 actual repossessions. The Council has estimated that actual repossessions will rise to 45,000 for the whole of this year — a different measure from the Ministry of Justice statistics of court actions.

Ms Anderson added: “Our figures relate to actual repossessions taken by first-charge mortage lenders, whereas the court possession figures relate to any lender who has a charge — possibly a second or third charge taken by a homeowner, perhaps for home improvements.”

The Government is scrambling to throw struggling homeowners a lifeline. Ministers yesterday performed a

U-turn on Home Information Packs (Hips), the troubled scheme requiring home-sellers to compile a report on their property. The full introduction of Hips will now be delayed from June until the end of the year. Hips were criticised for being too expensive.

Caroline Flint, the Housing Minister, will today pledge an extra £9 million over three years to fund debt advice and legal support for families facing repossession.

Alistair Darling also held talks yesterday with the chief executives of the six biggest UK banks, including RBS and HBOS, to urge them to do everything they can to prevent borrowers from losing their homes.

The Government will also look at the Mortgage Interest Scheme, which helps borrowers in arrears, but will make no guarantee of reforms. The Council of Mortgage Lenders has criticised the scheme for being too slow and offering inadequate financial help.