More than 300 property owners in Sussex have been threatened with repossession.

Figures released yesterday showed the number of repossession orders made in the early part of the year had risen by almost a quarter.

Financial experts blamed the increase on higher interest rates and over-priced housing which had encouraged people to take on more debt than they could afford.

They said there were no signs of an crash but the economy could suffer if too many people found themselves in financial difficulty.

In Sussex, 311 repossession orders were issued in the first few months of 2005, and nationally there were 25,869. Surrey, which has a smaller population than Sussex's counties put together, had only 197 repossession orders in the same period. Hampshire had 392, Kent had 507 and Essex had 512.

The Department for Constitutional Affairs statistics showed there was a rise of almost 25 per cent in orders across England and Wales in the first quarter compared to the same period last year.

The figures do not reflect the actual number of repossessions - even after an order has been made, a person can still settle their debts.

More than 56 per cent of the orders made were suspended, meaning judges allowed a period of time for possible negotiations between the parties.

In the first quarter of the year, 14,048 repossession orders were made by courts and 7,917 were suspended.

Adrian Davies, director of Brighton and Hove Citizens' Advice Bureau (CAB), said: "We help 200 people every year facing repossession but only a handful get evicted."

Mr Davies said anybody facing a repossession order should contact a CAB or other free financial advice centre, and pay their mortgages before worrying about credit card debts.

Sue Anderson, head of external affairs at the Council of mortgage Lenders, said she did not expect a return to the property crash of the early Nineties.

The rising cost of housing meant most people who got into trouble could sell up and move, making large profits which would wipe out their debts.

The total value of Britain's housing stock is about £3 trillion but total mortgage debts stand at £800 billion.

Pat Lowe, owner of Palms Property in Brighton Marina, said the market for expensive housing still looked healthy. She said: "A lot of people are offering five to seven per cent less than properties are being marked at but there is some upward movement on that."