The Big Mortgage Time Bomb

Vicky Spratt investigates how people have remained trapped in high interest mortgages since the financial crash of 2008.

Some of these so-called ‘mortgage prisoners’ are homeowners who were formerly customers of Northern Rock, a bank which was famously nationalised by the UK Government.

Since then, these customers have not been able to move out of their high interest mortgages and many are now living in poverty, and often suffering from poor mental and physical health.

There are tens of thousands of ‘mortgage prisoners’ in the UK, and housing journalist Vicky travels to Hartlepool and Blackpool to speak with two of them. She wants to find out how the issue arose and what the Government can do to help.

Presenter: Vicky Spratt Producer: Emily Uchida Finch Executive Producer: Rosamund Jones Assistant Producer: Sam Stone A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4