As the summer weather looks to be hotter than previous years, homeowners have been warned by Halifax Home Insurance to take steps now to reduce the risk of subsidence.

Figures from the Association of British Insurers show that the insurance industry has handled 144,000 subsidence claims in the past four years, costing a total of £825 million.

After two consecutive wet summers, the warm dry conditions predicted this summer mean it is likely that subsidence claims will increase significantly.

Despite severe cases of subsidence being relatively rare, homes in the South East of England are particularly at risk due to a combination of slightly warmer temperatures and clay based soil.

Neil Curling, Senior Structural Claims Manager for Halifax Home Insurance says: "People don't knowingly cause subsidence, but there are ways homeowners can help to reduce the risk of such damage to their home to avoid the costs, inconvenience and inevitable worry that subsidence damage brings."

Mr Curling added: "Large areas of the country are built on clay subsoil, which is prone to shrink and swell as it dries and re-hydrates. People will often see cracks appear in their gardens during summer, which is indicative of shrinkage of the clay.

"It's not the clay itself that causes the problem, but trees and other vegetation extracting moisture from the clay is all too often a recipe for subsidence damage."