Northern Rock's Ron Sandler revealed this morning that the bank's Together mortgage is the single biggest contributor to its failing loan book.

Together mortgages, which the Rock scrapped in February, allowed customers to borrow up to 125 per cent of the value of their homes through a personal loan and a traditional mortgage.

These loans were perceived as accidents waiting to happen, and this morning it became clear that those accidents are indeed happening.

Together is by far Northern Rock’s single biggest problem. Residential mortgage arrears at the bank grew by nearly 60 per cent over the last quarter, increasing from 1.18 per cent of the total book at the end of June to 1.87 per cent at the end of last month. Repossessions rose 13 per cent from 3,710 to the end of June to 4,201 at the end of September.

But of this Together accounted for half the arrears and three quarters of the repossessions.

Mr Sandler claims taxpayers remain on track to get their Monday back from Northern Rock by 2011.

The payback from HBOS and Bradford & Bingley, the other big punts on the property market bow in Government hands, is likely to be further away.

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