More than 1.2 million mortgage payment holidays have been offered to borrowers over a three-week period, according to UK Finance figures.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced on 17 March that that borrowers who fall into financial difficulty because of the Covid-19 outbreak will be able to defer their payments for three months.

By 8 April, 1.2 million payment holidays had been offered by lenders, equating to one in nine mortgages in the UK.

For the average mortgage holder, the payment holiday amounts to £260 per month of suspended interest payments, UK Finance says.

In the two weeks from 25 March to 8 April, the number of payment holidays in place more than tripled, growing from 392,130 to 1,240,680, the equivalent of around 61,000 granted each day.

UK Finance chief executive Stephen Jones says: “Mortgage lenders have been working tirelessly to help homeowners get through this challenging period. The industry has pulled out all the stops in recent weeks to give an unprecedented number of customers a payment holiday, and we stand ready to help more over the coming months.

“We understand that the current crisis is having a significant impact on household finances for people across the country. Lenders have a number of options available to help, and payment holidays aren’t always the right solution for everyone. We would therefore encourage any mortgage customers concerned about their financial situation to check with their lender so they can find out more information on the support available and how to apply.”