Just days ago the Evening News revealed how home repossession orders in the Scarborough area were up almost a third on last year's figure.

New data from the Ministry of Justice showed that 170 county court orders were issued in the first half of 2008 – a rise of 32 per cent on 2007.

Mrs Clayton told the Evening News: "We love the coast and always wanted to live here. We'd had a caravan in Filey for 14 years – we used to come every weekend – and we eventually bought a house in North Street, Flixton. "Eric died in November and since I lost his pension, attendance allowance and disability, things have been very difficult indeed."

Mrs Clayton, 79, put her two-bedroomed semidetached bungalow on the market in April for £185,000 but, despite a reduction of £15,000 in the asking price six weeks ago, no-one has even been to view the property. "I've not even had a single inquiry,"

Mrs Clayton added. "I thought the reduction would make things different but it hasn't changed at all. I know a lot of people are in the same boat.

"It's just terrible at the moment. I've got the same overheads as I've always had – the oil, the electric, and the prices for them seem to keep going up. "I can't see an end to it. Every time you go to the supermarket your shopping becomes more expensive, it seems to go up every week – there's no way I can afford to pay everything out.

"It's just dreadful – I can't face another winter with no money." Now Mrs Clayton is hoping for a quick sale so she can move back home to South Yorkshire to be closer to her family.

"I've even considered putting the house up as security and going into a care home," she said. "I don't want to go into care and I don't need to, but sometimes it seems like the easiest way out. "I feel absolutely on my own, it's so hard to manage."

Local estate agent Colin Ellis agrees that times are gloomy for Scarborough's housing market. He told the Evening News:

"Mrs Clayton's story is typical of the property market in town at the moment – stories like hers are very normal.

"My advice to people with homes on the market is to be realistic. If you do get an offer give it your fullest attention, don't dismiss it out of hand. That is fatal at the moment.

"The downturn in property sales began nationally about a year ago, but since April it's really hit Scarborough badly."

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