Number who can’t repay debt set to surge

John O’Callaghan, personal insolvency practitioner, said people are contacting him “in great emotional distress”, having lost jobs and terrified they will lose their homes once the courts reopen.

An insolvency expert is predicting a “dam burst” in the number of households unable to make mortgage payments as a result of the Covid-19 crisis in the coming months.

John O’Callaghan, vice chair of the Association of PIPS (personal insolvency practitioners), said he expects thousands more householders to join the tens of thousands who are still dealing with the fallout of the 2008 financial crisis.