A LONG-PROMISED £1bn scheme to help recession-hit families avoid repossession by deferring their mortgage repayments will finally get under way today.

Homeowners who lose their jobs, or are forced to take lower-paid work, will be able to suspend up to 70% of their mortgage interest payments for up to two years, Gordon Brown will confirm.

The Prime Minister pledged last year that the payment holiday would prevent anyone losing their home who “demonstrates to their bank a willingness to pay”. But criticism has grown as the scheme – originally due to start in January – was delayed after negotiations with major mortgage lenders dragged on.

The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has warned that repossessions are on course to soar to 75,000 next year – close to the peak of 75,500 reached in 1991, during the last recession.

The rescue scheme is badly needed in Liverpool, according to February figures, which revealed an alarming rise in families on the brink of losing their homes.

The county court reported 554 repossession orders made by lenders against householders unable to pay their mortgage bills in just three months, an 11% increase on a year earlier.

Seizure orders, in the last quarter of 2008, were also up in Birkenhead (3%), but fell in Warrington (5%) and fell significantly in Chester (27%) and Runcorn (39%).