A new service has been launched by the UK insolvency Helpline to help homeowners who face eviction or repossession.

The leading debt advice organisation has developed the service to concentrate expertise on repossession, bankruptcy and mortgage arrears.

Figures published by The Insolvency Service have revealed that the number of people declared insolvent has risen for the first time in over 12 months in the first 3 months of 2008.

The figures show that 25,264 people have been declared insolvent, which represents a rise of 1.7% compared with the last 3 months of 2007.

Furthermore, there were 9,614 Individual Voluntary Arrangements (IVAs) and 15,651 bankruptcies reported during the period.

According to uSwitch, the price comparison and switching service, individual insolvencies could reach 101,056 by the end of 2008.

The new service offered by UK Insolvency Helpline should provide a much needed and welcomed avenue for the growing amount of homeowners facing bankruptcy or mortgage arrears.

Although for many facing financial difficulty it can be a hugely worrying time, there can be some respite if they speak to their lenders. Most responsible lenders have practices in place to assist those facing difficulties. Debt counselling, allowing the rescheduling of payments, extending loan terms, or in some circumstances even allowing payment breaks are all options that may be made available by lenders.

UK Insolvency Helpline’s new "Repossession Counselling" team will be based in London. It will work closely with the mortgage sector and others to reduce or alleviate repossessions and be directly available to the public.

The advice provided won't cost anything. The public can depend on The UK Insolvency Helpline to be honest, open and ethical and every solution is suggested without obligation. All the staff at the helpline has many years of pooled expertise and special training on how to deal with mortgage arrears, repossession orders and bailiff issues. The message to the public from Ian Boden Smyth, spokesman for the service is, "Don't panic, there is no need to sell your home. Your case now can now be defended at the repossession hearing to the repossession hearing suspended at an early stage. It’s never too late to act, the service had already stopped 100's of repossessions even where the caller has been within days of being evicted. In some cases evictions have been stopped within 24 hours."

The number of repossessions is likely to be higher in 2008 as a result of wider issues in the economy and the mortgage funding markets