The town was singled out as the worst place in the country for house possession orders after shocking figures revealed a 165 per cent rise in the first three months of this year.

Several residents of Gladstone Street gave their views on why there had been such a shocking rise in the article. But yesterday, when the Evening News spoke to some of those featured they said it was an unfair representation of Scarborough because times were hard right across the country.

Jayne Broadbent, 40, who has lived in the street with children Daniel, 11, and Millie, six, for three years, said she was surprised when she heard there had been such a rise.

She said: “I didn’t think Scarborough was as bad as they were making out. But, it’s everything – when you go to the supermarket you see the prices rising.

“Scarborough’s not exactly a cheap place to come for your holiday but it’s the same everywhere – everything is going up.”

She said she empathised with anyone who faced having their home repossessed because she had been in the same situation some years ago. She said: “I’d never have a mortgage again. We were very close to having our house repossessed.

“It just broke our relationship because we never seemed to have a penny. I feel sorry for anybody in that position because I’ve been there.”

Some of the residents of Gladstone Street felt that expressing the rise as a percentage gave an unfair representation because Scarbor-ough did not have the most repossession orders and areas further down the top 10 actually had more orders.

Retired care assistant Susan Dove, 59, who also appeared in the Mirror article, said “Rising prices are something that are happening all over the world, it’s not just in this country. I think it’s unfair the way they’ve picked on Scarborough. If you go to anywhere else I am sure you will find people who will say the same things.”

Scarborough’s MP, Robert Goodwill, said he agreed that times were hard for people right across the country and Scarborough was just a typical example of a town where a number of factors had conspired against people.

He said: “Petrol prices are the same all over the country and food prices are the same all over the country.

“It would be unfair to suggest that Scarborough is a much worse place than anywhere else.”

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