Homeowners in the West of England are being hit with a "Government mortgage penalty" of £7,000 per year, with interest rates triple what they were two years ago.

Metro Mayor Dan Norris pointed the finger of blame at the "kamikaze mini-Budget" in the autumn which crashed the economy and sent mortgage rates spiralling.

Liz Truss became the shortest serving prime minister in modern British political history after the fallout from her so-called Growth Plan that sent the mortgage market into meltdown.

Analysis by the Labour Party suggests the average homeowner is forking out an extra £150 every week since the mini-Budget. It means the average household in the West with a mortgage now pays £223 a week in mortgage interest payments - an increase of £7,000 per year.

Metro Mayor Dan Norris is urging ministers to set out plans to support homeowners struggling with spiralling interest rates. He pointed to new research showing that the value of mortgage arrears has risen by 10% in the last quarter - the fastest increase in over a decade.

He said: "Unless ministers step in to support West of England homeowners, there is a real risk that repossessions could go up and people end up homeless. Remortgaging rates are now hitting levels not seen in years, thanks to the Tories crashing the economy. This is a Government mortgage penalty - interest rates up, mortgage deals being pulled left right and centre and people left feeling fearful for the future. I urge ministers to ensure West of England residents do not pay the price of 13 years of poor decisionmaking by losing their homes."

Labour's research comes as mortgage lenders continue to withdraw deals and raise rates on their mortgage products this week. On Monday, Santander became the latest major bank to temporarily pull its mortgage deals until today while NatWest upped rates for many of its deals yesterday.

The average five-year fixed-rate mortgage and two-year fixed rates mortgage on the market on Tuesday was 5.51% and 5.86% respectively – up from 5.17% and 5.49% at the start of the month.