The Liberal Democrat leader and Hallam MP said they had found themselves "mortgaged up the gills" following the downturn in the UK housing market.

Mr Clegg moved into his house in Putney, South West London, two-and-a-half years ago with his wife MADVERTISEMENT iriam and their two young sons.

He explained: "Without going into the gory details of our family finances, we are mortgaged up to the gills like a lot of other people.

"I had a two-year, fixed-rate deal which ran out, and it has been very painful to move on to a different one - like millions of other people."

The MP stressed that he and his family have not experienced the same level of financial hardship faced by many across the country.

He added: "My wife and I are not really struggling to put food on the family supper table. My wife works...and I work, so we have two incomes.

"But we need every penny of those two incomes.

"I can't imagine what it is like for the many millions of British families who aren't as lucky as we are.

"We heat the house less and we always have very frugal holiday tastes because we just go and stay with my in-laws in Spain."

Figures reported by The Star earlier this week showed how the credit crunch is hitting Sheffield particularly hard.

The number of homeowners facing eviction for failing to meet mortgage payments in the city has jumped by more than half to almost three a day.

Sheffield County Court judges made 247 possession orders between April and June - up by 51 per cent on the second quarter of last year.



What do you think? Add your comments below

MORE:
Local News
Local Sport
Arts Guide