NEW research has revealed that more than 500 people in Bradford will likely spend Christmas without a home this year.

Research by the charity Shelter shows at least 6,200 people in Yorkshire and the Humber will be homeless at Christmas, including more than 2,500 children. This is a stark increase of 23 per cent in one year.

Shelter’s analysis of official homelessness figures and responses to Freedom of Information requests reveal that in the region, 170 people are sleeping rough on any given night and 5,660 are living in temporary accommodation – a 25 per cent increase in one year.

Shelter’s research also looks at places across Yorkshire and the Humber where homelessness is most acute. Sheffield has the highest number of people without a home, with 1,036 people homeless, followed by Kirklees where 931 people are homeless and Wakefield with 718 people.

In Bradford, 545 people are homeless. It is estimated that at least 13 people are sleeping rough on the streets of Bradford on any given night.

Kirklees has the highest rate of homelessness, with one in 465 people homeless. Bradford is seventh on the list in Yorkshire with a rate of one in 1,003 people who are homeless.

Councils have a legal duty to house families and people who are vulnerable, but the acute shortage of affordable homes means they are having to rely on temporary accommodation for long periods.

People not entitled to accommodation may end up on the streets, sofa-surfing or in dangerous living conditions.

Shelter’s frontline services are dealing with the grim reality of rising homelessness every day by providing emergency assistance to people faced with a night on the streets.

The charity has launched an urgent appeal calling on the public to help it be there for people experiencing homelessness this winter.

Polly Neate, chief executive of Shelter, said: “Homelessness is on nobody’s Christmas list, but 6,200 people in Yorkshire and the Humber will spend this time of year in a tiny hostel room or freezing in a doorway.

"It is only with the public’s support that we can continue to provide vital advice and support and fight for the solutions people want and need to end homelessness.”

A spokesman for the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities said: “Everyone deserves a safe place to call home. That’s why we are spending £2 billion to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping, including making £1 billion available so councils can give financial support for people to find a new home and move out of temporary accommodation.

“Temporary accommodation is an important way of making sure no family is without a roof over their head, but councils must ensure it is temporary and suitable for families, who have a right to appeal if it doesn’t meet their household’s needs.

“Through our Rough Sleeping Strategy, we will continue to work to end rough sleeping completely.”