Chesterfield County Court made 298 orders between April and June this year – up from 186 in the same period last year – as more of the town's households succumbed to the effects of the credit crunch.

Paul Holmes, MP for Chesterfield, said homeowners who were getting behind on mortgage payments should take action now – before they find themselves facing an eviction notice.

He said: "People tend to stick their head in the sand. If you go and sit down with the bank or building society, they can restructure your loans – switch to interest only or temporarily suspend payments. It's not always the first thing they suggest but the lender is supposed to be taking a reasonable attitude."

Mr Holmes said homes repossessions nationally were almost at the same level as the early 1990s – the last major housing market slump – and he expected the situation would get much worse in Chesterfield.

According to figures produced by credit rating agency Experian for Spectator magazine in April, over a third of Chesterfield households were found to be in the sub-prime lending category.

These families are typical targets for sub-prime lenders and the borrowers most at risk of defaulting on repayments.

Mr Holmes added: "Far more people are going to be evicted, and where are they going to go? There is a huge shortage of council housing in Chesterfield – the waiting list has trebled in the last ten years."

With the credit crunch putting an end to easy loans, and food and fuel bills continuing to rocket, Mr Holmes said many people were trying to juggle several debts and needed to prioritise the most important.

* Free debt advice is available from Chesterfield Citizens' Advice Bureau on (01246) 209164. Benefit entitlement can be investigated at www.dwp.gov.uk or www.adviceguide.org.uk