The number of people struggling to pay their mortgage has risen by 78% over the past year, housing charity Shelter has found.

The results of a YouGov survey of over 2,000 Britons indicate that three million mortgage holders across the country or the equivalent of one in six are struggling to pay their mortgage . This 18% of homeowners compares to 10% of people who said they were constantly struggling this time last year.

Campbell Robb, chief executive of Shelter said: “Clearly this shows what a difficult year it has been for many homeowners