Woman found dead sleeping rough in Leeds City Centre

A woman sleeping rough has been found dead by police in Leeds City Centre.

Officers were called to the site by the International Pool car park near Grace Street at 10.46am on Sunday, and found a woman unresponsive and was pronounced dead at the scene a short time later.

West Yorkshire Police can confirm the death is not being treated as suspicious.

The woman, 33, has been identified and her family have been informed.

Earlier this year, more than 20 tents were set up near this patch of land to form a small settlement known as 'Tent Village' , but it was closed down in February.

In the two years leading up to March 2019, seven people died on the streets of Leeds.

Leeds City Council say there are around 130 people who are known to be sleeping rough in the city, but it has repeatedly stated no one needs to sleep on the streets.

The council also states that 99 per cent of people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness do not resort to sleeping rough.

A report into the council’s budget for the forthcoming year claims its flexible homelessness support grant will be cut by £664,000 - from £1.794 million to £1.129 million - in the 2019/20 financial year.