More than 3,700 people homeless in Cornwall and Devon

Research from a UK homeless charity has found more than 3,800 people, including 1,500 children, were recorded as homeless in Devon and Cornwall in 2022.

Shelter said a Freedom of Information request showed the number of people in temporary accommodation in England had risen by 74% in the past 10 years.

It found 3,600 people, including many families, were in temporary accommodation in Devon and Cornwall.

Alison Rush said it had been a "bleak start" to 2023 for homeless people.

The charity's South West Service lead said: "A cold doorway or a grotty hostel room is not a home, but this is reality for too many people today."

Homelessness was found to be most acute in Torridge where one in 279 people was homeless, while the figures were one in 320 in Plymouth and one in 399 in Torbay.

In Cornwall 1,649 people, including 744 children, were in temporary accommodation while 28 people were sleeping rough.

Shelter said the statistics were "likely to be much higher", with types of homelessness such as sofa surfing going "entirely undocumented".

Ms Rush said frontline advisors for the charity were "working tirelessly" to help individuals and families out of poverty.

"With private rents and living costs continuing to soar, thousands of people are not just facing a winter of worry, they are at risk of losing the roof over their head," she said.

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