The number of people threatened with the loss of their home after failing to keep up with their mortgage has fallen.

Figures published today by the Ministry of Justice show the number of families served with a possession order — the final stage before a home is repossessed — in the first three months of the year fell across the county, compared with the same quarter last year.

The biggest reduction came in Oxford, where the county court made 63 orders between January and March – down 44 per cent on the same period in 2008.