People locally are at greater risk of losing their homes than anywhere else in Yorkshire and Humber, new figures reveal.

More proceedings against home owners struggling to meet repayments have been started in county courts across the Bradford district than any other area in the region, according to Ministry of Justice figures.

Between January and September last year there were 1,342 repossession claims in Bradford — the first stage of the process.

A claim action comes before mortgage possession orders, when a court rules a home can be repossessed.

There were 987 possession orders across Bradford in the same nine-month period.

In Keighley there were 223 claims made and 264 orders.

The figures do not reveal the actual number of repossessions because even after an order has been made a person can still settle their debts, save their home and reach an agreement with the borrower.

James Watts, former president of Bradford District Estate Agents’ Association, said house prices catching up with those in Leeds might be one reason why people in the district were now struggling. He said: “One explanation could be prices rose dramatically between 2004 and 2007 and maybe there were higher increases in Bradford than there were in Leeds.”