Mail: Mortgage rates soar as credit crunch bites

"Banks which specialise in providing home loans to those with a poor credit history, the self- employed and first time buyers who want to self-certify their income have made dramatic changes recently. While some have dropped these mortgages altogether, others have raised their standard variable rate by as much as 2.5%." Even a dramatic drop in the BoE base rate cannot help the market at this point!