The latest statistics from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) show the number of people losing their homes in the UK rose by 54% last year, slightly less than the 45,000 previously forecast by the industry body.

Lenders repossessed around 40,000 homes in 2008, taking the total for 2008 to the highest since 1996, the Council of Mortgage Lenders said. But some 219,000 people were three or more months behind with their mortgage payments at the end of the year, up from 127,500 at the end of 2007an increase of 70%,

The body said 500,000 people could fall behind with three or more mortgage payments this year.

The CML said that the lower repossession figures were because lenders were making 'strenuous efforts' to try to keep people in their homes.

The CML said repossessions in 2008 constituted 0.34% of all existing loans, compared with the series peak of 0.77% in 1991.

But analysts do not expect conditions to improve for some time, forecasting more homeowners will struggle to keep hold of their properties as the downturn continues this year.

Michael Coogan, director general of the CML, said that there was a rise in the numbers of borrowers handing back their keys or abandoning their properties.

He also added: "We strongly urge borrowers to contact their lender and work with them before taking this step, as there may be other solutions. Borrowers are still liable for their debt, even if they leave the property, so working through their problems is much more likely to be in their best interests."

Figures from the Ministry of Justice showed court orders for mortgage repossession in England and Wales rose 14% on the year to a seasonally adjusted 29,095 in the final quarter of 2008, but were broadly the same as the third quarter.