The typical mortgage repayments made by homeowners in the UK are going through the roof, according to a new report on the issue from Shelter.

Over the past ten years, the average income of a working British household has risen by around 53 per cent but the amounts they spend on mortgage repayments has increased by roughly 172 per cent over same period.

Affordability and debt management concerns have become particularly acute for first-time buyers living around the country and most notably in London, where typical mortgage costs have increased by 250 per cent since 1998.

"These new figures show in full the true and worsening situation first time buyers find themselves in," said Shelter chief executive Adam Sampson.

"Every year the gulf between what first time buyers can afford and the cost of housing is widening."

The Council of Mortgage Lenders has urged the Bank of England to reduce its base rate of interest in order to slow the "rapid worsening" of housing market conditions in the UK.