According to the ratings agency Moody`s, an increasing number of homeowners with previously clean credit records are falling at least three months behind with payments towards their mortgage debt, The Times reports.

The agency found that in the second quarter of the year, 1.8% of `prime home loans` were behind by at least three months, compared with just 0.9% in 2008.

Rising unemployment and restrictions on the availability of mortgages are expected to lead more homeowners into arrears throughout the rest of the year. Continue reading…