Help the homeless plea as figures reveal rough sleeping levels in Black Country and Staffordshire

With homelessness growing across the nation, the housing charity is calling for radical change to tackle a crisis that “blights lives”.

Nearly 1,000 people are homeless across the Black Country, Cannock Chase and Stafford, figures from Shelter have shown.

And across the West Midlands, 23,700 people are estimated to be without a permanent home, while this figure stands at 280,000 across England.

The figures includes estimates for people in temporary accommodation at the end of March, and those waiting to move out of unfit housing.

It also includes the most recent data on rough sleepers and those in homeless hostels.

Shelter says the number has increased by 23,000 since 2016, meaning one in every 200 people is now known to be without a home.

But the figures could be much higher, it says, as hidden forms of homelessness such as “sofa surfing” or overcrowded households often go unrecorded.

The Shelter report showed that the worst area affected locally was Walsall, with 356 people homeless.

In Sandwell it was 346 people homeless, and in Wolverhampton 177 people were without a home.

In Dudley about 52 people have no-where to live, in Cannock Chase it's seven, and 21 in Stafford.

Chief executive Polly Neate said the analysis shows the “grim truth our new government must confront and do something radical to change”.

She added: “Homelessness blights lives and leaves a lasting imprint of trauma, and yet 280,000 people in England are without a home this Christmas. And many are only days away from joining them.

“As well as those facing serious ill health or even death sleeping rough on our streets this winter, there are thousands of families trapped in grotty emergency B&Bs, with no space for children to sit and eat, let alone play."

Shelter's report said the new government must take "urgent" action to address the "dire lack of social homes at the crux of this emergency, before the situation is likely to get worse".

A spokesman for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said it was supporting councils to reduce the numbers of people in temporary accommodation.

He added: "We're giving £1.2 billion to tackle all types of homelessness.

"Everyone should have somewhere safe to live, and councils have a duty to provide accommodation to those who need it, including families with children."