AN ALARMING rise in families in Wirral and Chester on the brink of losing their homes was revealed yesterday, providing further evidence of the recession biting across the region.

Most county courts reported big rises in repossession orders against householders unable to pay their mortgage bills, most starkly in Birkenhead, rising 59%, and Ches ter seeing an increase of 127%.

Liverpool appeared to have escaped the worst – reporting a 1% fall in orders in the third quarter of this year – although the number was still high, at 553.

The grim figures triggered fresh calls for Chancellor Alistair Darling to unveil a rescue plan for homeowners when he presents his long-awaited pre-Budget report to MPs on Monday.

One hint last night was that the Government would force the banks to give every homeowner a “three-month amnesty” – three missed payments before starting repossession proceedings.

However, housing minister Margaret Beckett pinned much of the blame for the crisis on the families themselves – for failing to alert their lender that they were in financial trouble early enough.

Ms Beckett hailed an 85% success rate in courts where the Government had set up desks to allow alternatives to repossession to be explored, in the minutes before the case begins.

But she said: “People cannot access any advice, any help, any support, if they don’t tell anybody.

“These are people who have actually got to the door of the court – the court order is going to be heard that morning. If only they had gone to someone earlier.”