Teacher Tim Clark and girlfriend Louissa Galenski wanted to move into Cambridge to be closer to work, but couldn’t afford the city’s high house prices.

Tim had already bought a shared ownership property in Streatham, near Ely, but was fed up with commuting in and out of the city centre – and spending so much on petrol.

Having sold up and benefited from a rise in the value of his Streatham home, Tim and Louissa were able to take advantage of the New Build HomeBuy scheme offered by Keyhomes East, to move into a new three-bedroom townhouse in Scholars Walk, Cambridge.

The part-buy, part-rent scheme means the couple, who have three children between them, have been able to buy a share of a home they could never have afforded outright.

Louissa said: “The house is great and the New Build HomeBuy scheme has been fantastic for us. We are so pleased to have been able to get a house like this in such a prime location. We could never have done it otherwise.

“House prices in Cambridge are so expensive that shared ownership schemes are becoming a good option for more and more people keen to get on the property ladder.”