Repossessions were down 14% by the end of the first half of last year across England and Wales, compared with the same period in 2013.

LSL valuations firm e.surv is basing its estimates on 2.5 repossessions per 1,000 households in the north and 1.7 in the south.

The figures compare to 2.9 repossessions per 1,000 households in the north and 2.0 in the south in the first half of 2013.

The place with the highest repossessions per households in the first half of last year was Oldham, followed by Bradford, Liverpool, Wigan and Luton. All had repossession rates of above 3.25 per 1,000 households.

The place with the actual highest number of repossessions was Manchester with 695.

By comparison, repossession rates in parts of London and also in Cambridge were below one per 1,000 households.