'Only hope is the Lottery'

Karen Baxter has been desperate to get a foot on the capital's property ladder for four years. But, while she has seen friends and family buy houses elsewhere, her efforts have been frustrated by rising prices.

Miss Baxter, 27, a charity worker from Bow, said: "The only way I will ever get on the property ladder is if I win the Lottery. I feel persecuted for living in London."

She said the highest mortgage she had been offered was £90,000 but the cheapest one-bedroom flat she could find in Bow was £150,000. "The initiatives for key workers are very good but for others like me there is no way we can buy a property," she said.

Her sister, a teacher in Doncaster, earns the same amount and owns a three-bedroom house.

She added: "I do not have the option of getting a joint mortgage at the moment, nor do I have any inheritance or a wealthy family member who can help me."