Foreclosures jump 40 percent in Britain

London -- Home repossessions in Britain rose 40 percent in the first quarter of the year, the Financial Services Authority said.

Repossessions jumped to 9,152 in the first three months of 2008, up from 6,471 in the same period of 2007, the Times of London reported Wednesday.

The number of mortgages in arrears at least three months has reached 300,000, the report said.

The government is "looking at a number of measures" to revive the economy, British Chancellor Alistair Darling said Tuesday.

"I want to look at a range of options that will help people," Darling said when asked about a proposal to suspend the country's stamp duty, a government tax imposed on property transactions.

Suspending the stamp duty, which was done for eight months during an economic downturn in 1991, has support of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors, the Times said.

Copyright 2008 by United Press International.