Eastern European migrants make up a third of rough sleepers helped by homeless charities in Bradford.

And with an influx of Romanians and Bulgarians set to arrive in the UK later this year, when temporary immigration curbs expire, homeless numbers could rise further.

The Government has not provided an estimate on the number of Romanians or Bulgarians expected in Britain, but Migration Watch says it could be up to 50,000 a year for the first five years.

Bradford charity Hope Housing, which helps homeless people access accommodation, highlighted Eastern and Central European migrants in its film The Not So Promised Land. Shot in squats, outbuildings and makeshift shelters in Bradford, it focuses on migrants from the A8 countries – the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia – with free movement around the EU.

The men came here following offers of work from “friends” who turned out to be criminal gangs taking their passports and papers, leaving them unable to register for work.

Eastern European migrants make up a third of those helped by Inn Churches, which provides winter shelter in churches around the district.

But the charity says the rise in demand this winter has been from British people – and there has been a significant rise in those newly homeless because of job losses.

This is the fourth year of Inn Churches. Last year it had 115 referrals, which has risen to 180 so far this winter. “There has been a huge rise in demand, the churches are full every night,” says co-ordinator Juli Thompson. “There are five extra churches taking part this year, and they’re open until March.”

Juli says the rise in newly-homeless people is a knock-on effect of the recession.

“We managed to get two men off the streets and into bedsit accommodation. One was a builder and the other a demolition expert – someone didn’t pay for a job and the contractors had to lay them off. They were stunned to find themselves on the streets, and had no idea where to turn,” she says.

“We’re seeing people who had jobs and security, then suddenly it’s gone. Changes in the benefit system have had an impact too. Many people have been evicted, some illegally. When people don’t know where to go for help, they turn to churches.

“We were called out to a couple on Sunday night. They’d lost their home and had spent two days wandering round in shock.”

Working with Hope Housing and the Horton Housing Association, Inn Churches helps re-accommodate people.

The £322,150 Warm Homes, Healthy People grant, delivered by Bradford Council and funded by the Department of Health, targets vulnerable people at risk of health problems during very cold weather.

“The Warm Homes grant has really helped,” says Juli. “With the two men I mentioned, for example, Horton Housing found them accommodation, Hope Housing put a bond down and we got them a starter pack and some bedding.”

As this winter’s Inn Churches shelter comes to an end, the charity is working with Hope Housing to help people find longer-term shelter. “Giving people some stability helps them rebuild their lives,” says Juli.

Despite the work of organisations in Bradford, a Government funding cut of almost 40 per cent to the Council’s Preventing Homelessness Grant means homelessness looks set to remain a serious issue in the district.

As reported in the Telegraph & Argus yesterday, Council leader Dave Green has written to the Housing Minister calling for a reversal of the £75,000 cut.

“This is completely the wrong time to be cutting this funding,” said Coun Green. “More and more people are at risk of homelessness and this is not likely to get better any time soon, given the economic climate and the Government’s bedroom tax.

“We are going to see people forced out of their homes for having a spare room, but left with nowhere to go because there are insufficient numbers of smaller properties to meet the increase in demand.”

A Department for Communities and Local Government spokesman said Bradford’s core pot had “not been significantly reduced”.

But the Council’s executive member for housing, Councillor Val Slater, called the cut “a perverse decision that fails to recognise the reality on the ground”.