Mortgages: how to cope as UK interest rates hit the roof

Options for homeowners and first-time buyers as they face maelstrom in market

• Interest-only mortgages: a godsend for UK borrowers (if you can get one)

For Britons buying their first home or chasing a new deal the maelstrom in the mortgage market is the stuff of nightmares, with products being pulled right, left and centre, and no end in sight as the Bank of England raises interest rates yet again.

As the consumer champion Martin Lewis put it this week: the mortgage ticking timebomb" has exploded", with homeowners, already hobbled by the cost of living crisis, now racing to replace low-cost deals that are expiring.