UK homeowners with mental health problems ‘spend less on essentials to pay mortgage’

Charity set up by Martin Lewis says up to 1.3m people forced to cut back on food, energy and even medicine

Homeowners with mental health problems are more likely to have cut back on food and energy to keep on top of their mortgage payments, a charity set up by the consumer finance champion Martin Lewis has warned.

The Money and Mental Health Policy Institute said its research indicated that as many as 1.3 million people in the UK with mental health problems were spending less on essentials – which also included medicine – in order to afford their mortgage costs, which have in many cases increased sharply after a string of interest rate rises.