The number of homeless children has increased by 59% in the last five years, meaning 131,000 will be without a permanent home this Christmas, Shelter has warned.
The charity said the figures show the number of homeless children has reached its highest level in over a decade, with one in every 103 children in Britain now without a home.
The report - The Housing Crisis Generation – found Westminster had the highest number of homeless children, as one in 11 children in the borough do not have a permanent home.
Greg Beales, director of campaigns at Shelter, said: ‘The number of children hidden away in hostels and BnBs is enough to make anyone’s heart sink. These are not places for children. We hear about cold, damp – even rats. Young children are sharing beds with multiple family members, trying to play in dirty public corridors, and having to leave their block in the middle of the night to use the bathroom.
‘Over the last five years, hundreds of thousands of children have known what it’s like to be homeless. The impact on these young people cannot be overstated. It doesn’t have to be this way. If we act now, we can change tomorrow to make sure every child has somewhere they can call home.’
