Zouhair Tourmoche lost his “dream home” last year after his mortgage lender repossessed his three-bedroom cottage in Cinderford, Gloucestershire, when he fell behind with monthly repayments on his sub-prime loan.

The self-employed garden designer, 63, took out a tracker mortgage for £190,000 with an interest rate of 3.5 per cent in August 2004. Two years later the rate had risen to 6 per cent, and his repayments had almost jumped from £660 to £900.

In August 2006, Mr Tourmoche was forced to stop working when he developed post-traumatic stress disorder. A small teachers pension was not enough to cover his monthly repayments and he begun to default on his home loan.

Mr Tourmoche started receiving regular letters from his lender asking him to catch up with the payments he had missed. “The letters would suggest I called to discuss my situation, but when I tried to explain why I couldn’t pay, the staff would simply demand money.”

Mr Tourmoche did have payment protection insurance, which he took out with his mortgage, but his lender, who provided the cover, insisted his situation did not comply with the rules of the policy. “It was a complete waste of money, the biggest rip-off. I couldn't work, I needed help with my repayments and the insurance was useless.”

Five months later, a bailiff arrived at his door to give him 28 days to leave his home. He also suggested Mr Tourmoche contact Shelter, the housing charity. "It was the first bit of help I’d received during the whole process. Shelter actually listened to my situation.”

Mr Tourmoche’s home was eventually repossessed in July last year. It was sold for £200,000, despite a valuation the month before of £260,000. Shelter found him rented accommodation nearby.

Mr Tourmoche now lives in a two-bed flat in Lydbrook, Gloucestershire and swears never to re-enter the housing market. “That house was my passion, my life and my pension. I worked so hard to improve and expand it, spending thousands on renovations. I’d never enter into the allusion of property ownership again.”