The Finance and Leasing Association showed the number of second charge mortgage repossessions had dropped by almost half since the first three month of last year.

A total of 70 properties were repossessed in January, February and March 2015. The lowest recorded since at least 2010, data from the firm suggested.

Second charge mortgages are often used when a homeowners is unable or unwilling to remortgage a property. It allows any additional equity in the property to be secured against another loan, although this is often at a higher rate.

If your credit situation has worsened since taking out your mortgage then remortgaging could see you forced onto a higher rate, in this situation a second charge mortgage would be useful.

If a mortgage has very high early repayment charges then it may also be beneficial to take out a second charge loan.

Fiona Hoyle, head of consumer credit at the Finance and Leasing Association, said firms in the sector were taking a conciliatory approach.

“Second charge repossessions are continuing to fall as second charge lenders continue to do all they can to help customers in financial difficulty,” she said.