MORE than 160 people are homeless in Weymouth and Portland, according to a report by a national charity.

Shelter has released its report revealing ‘homelessness hotspots’ looking at the scale of the problem in the South West.

According to the report 161 people in the borough are homeless.

This means one in every 410 people are homeless, the fourth highest in the South West.

It has used government statistics, freedom of information requests and other published homelessness data to put together the figures.

The report has used local level figures on rough sleeping and temporary accommodation to work out the number of people who are homeless.

Shelter chief executive, Campbell Robb, said: “Shelter’s founding shone a light on hidden homelessness in the sixties slums. But while those troubled times have faded into memory, fifty years on a modern day housing crisis is tightening its grip on our country.

“Thousands of people in the South West will face the trauma of waking up homeless this Christmas. Decades in the making, this is the tragic result of a nation struggling under the weight of sky-high rents, a lack of affordable homes, and cuts to welfare support.

“We all face the consequences when so many grow up without a place to call home. It breaks up communities and wreaks havoc on family life. For the sake of future generations we must pull together to end this crisis, and refuse to rest until every child has a place to call home.”

Last year, Weymouth and Portland Borough Council said it recognised homelessness was a “significant issue” facing many people today and that it was committed to addressing and preventing homelessness.

In 2014 it approved a five-year Homelessness and Homelessness Prevention Strategy.