Homeless rates grow to 1 in 25 in parts of London as total UK figure outstrips population of Newcastle

Homeless people in Britain now outnumber the population of Newcastle - with London boroughs making up the worst 13 areas, figures suggest.

The total number of homeless has jumped by 13,000 year-on-year to 307,000, according to Shelter.

In a list of local authorities with the highest rates per person, London boroughs made up 32 of 50 spots.

Local authorities in the capital occupied the top 13 places, with figures suggesting one in 25 people in Newham were homeless.

Shelter slammed the statistics, pointing to "decades of failure" on building affordable homes and the effects of recent welfare cuts.

London's homelessness rate vastly outstrips the rest of the UK. Credit: PA

Last autumn, a snapshot overnight count recorded 4,134 rough sleepers in Britain.

This represented an increase of 135% since the Conservatives took power in 2010, according to the National Audit Office.

Some 77,240 households - including 120,540 children - were in temporary accommodation last March, it added.

The ending of private sector tenancies has become the main cause of homelessness in England, rather than changes in personal circumstances such as relationship breakdowns, with a threefold increase in numbers since 2010/11, the NAO found.

Figures suggest that overall one in 200 people in England is homeless.

Shelter said a lack of affordable housing was partly to blame. Credit: PA

Shelter chief executive Polly Neate said thousands of people were stuck trying to "escape the devastating trap of homelessness".

"Some will have spent the night shivering on a cold pavement, others crammed into a dingy, hostel room with their children," she said.

"And what is worse, many are simply unaccounted for."

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