American Nightmare Monday 29 October 2007 1900 GMT on BBC Two

This World investigates the human tragedy behind the financial headlines caused by sub-prime mortgages.

More than two million people are expected to lose their homes in the US within the next couple of years. The majority of these are people living on the poverty line.

As fears that Britain could be next, This World travels to Cleveland, Ohio - the city with one of the highest rates of house repossessions in America - to hear the stories of those afflicted.

'Ripped the heart out'

Emeka Onono investigates the roots of the current problems and reports on how the rise in the number of people defaulting on their mortgages has sent shockwaves through the global financial system.

Eleanor Hall is facing homelessness after taking out a mortgage

He meets the families losing their homes, the activists battling to save them and the sheriffs whose job it is to carry out the house evictions.

"It has ripped the heart out of our neighbourhood," says Toni Brancatelli, a lifelong Cleveland resident.

Their powerful and gripping stories show the human cost of what could be the worst banking crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s.