A government-led emergency package of measures to tackle repossessions has so far only helped one family, figures show.

The Homeowner Mortgage Support Scheme was aimed at helping an estimated 6,000 families, although has failed to reach these levels to date.

"This is an appalling failure by a government that is more interested in headline-grabbing than in helping families through the economic crisis," Sarah Teather, housing spokesman for the Liberal Democrats told the Independent.

The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) estimates there will be as many as 75,000 repossessions throughout the course of 2009, with Alistair Darling attempting to address the issue in his recent Budget.

Nonetheless, the £85 million scheme, which was set up to help those struggling with mortgage payments, has so far failed to deliver, experts suggest.

Data from the CML shows there were 10,400 repossessions in the fourth quarter of last year, with one in 53 mortgages in arrears of three months or more.

However, the body said there were 5,000 fewer repossessions than initially forecast in 2008.