Although repossessions in the first three months of the year rose in the usual seasonal pattern to 6,400 from 6,100 in the previous quarter, they were substantially down from 8,000 during the same period a year earlier.

The figures include both owner-occupier mortgages and buy-to-let mortgages.

Mortgage accounts in arrears also fell between January and March to their lowest level since 2008.

Some 138,200 mortgages had arrears of more than 2.5 per cent of the balance compared with 144,600 at the end of 2013.

CML director general Paul Smee said: “The downward trend in the number of mortgages in arrears or ending in repossession is obviously very welcome. Repossession is absolutely the last resort – the aim is to keep people in their home and get their finances back on track wherever possible.”

Meanwhile, Ministry of Justice figures show the number of landlord repossession claims in County Courts against tenants hit the highest quarterly figure in over a decade, increasing by 26 per cent to 170,453 in 2013 and to 47,220 in the first quarter of 2014.