MORE than 1,650 families across East Lancashire are on the brink of being kicked out of their homes, according to figures released today.

Shelter published alarming statistics claiming 1,200 people in the North West were put at risk of losing their home every weeks in the past year.

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Blackburn is one of the worst hit areas, where one in 148 homeowners is facing court action to have their homes repossessed and one in 56 renters faces eviction.

In total 489 families are set to lose their homes in the town, with figures borne out of the number of people visiting Shelter’s website, with 360,000 unique visits in the past year.

Shelter bases its findings on the number of possession claims issued in county courts between April 1 last year and March 31 this year, using Ministry of Justice (MoJ) figures.

The district with the fewest fears is the Ribble Valley, where only one in 404 families with a mortgage is struggling with payments.

Chorley figures highly on the list, with one in 46 tenants looking for a new place to sleep after being unable to pay their rent.

In Rossendale one in every 141 owners and one in 86 renters has had court hearings in the first step towards repossession.

In Burnley it is one in 155 and one in 91 respectively, in Pendle one in 121 and one in 112, and the court hearings standing at one in 148 and one in 109 in Hyndburn.

Alison Mohammed, Shelter’s director of services, said: “These figures show just how many people are fighting to keep their families in their homes.”

Nadeem Khan, helpline adviser for Shelter, said: “We’re hearing from thousands of people who have suffered in silence while they struggle to keep up with their rent or mortgage .”

Bill Murdoch, 52, lost his job as a bus driver after losing the sight in one eye.

Things started spiralling downwards when he missed payments on a loan secured against his home, and he contacted Shelter for help.

He said: “The only thing that gave me hope was when I contacted Shelter who helped us through the court process. If it wasn’t for that, we’d have lost everything.”