Enlarge image
Street dweller sleeps in front of shop on Regent Street: homelessness is often a vicious cycle
Photo: DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS/ AFP
According to official figures, the number of homeless people in London has risen by almost a quarter.
Between April and September, 5,712 people lived on the streets of the British capital, according to an analysis by local authorities.
That is 24 percent more than in the same period last year.
It is expected that the number of unreported cases is significantly higher.
The stats are just a sample of a larger analysis due to be released today, the PA news agency said.
It is assumed that the increase in the number of homeless people is also due to the rising cost of living.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan called on the government to take immediate action to tackle rising bills and housing costs.
Among other things, he called for a freeze on rents and a ban on short-term evictions.
Since 2016, 13,500 people have been helped to get out of homelessness, eight out of ten people permanently.
But the extraordinary financial pressure is putting the poorest in London at risk, Khan said.
"We continue to see a vicious circle of people becoming homeless as a result of this escalating cost of living crisis."
In September, a study surveyed for the first time how many homeless people there are in Germany.
The number of 37,400 people was smaller than expected.
However, many "covertly homeless" would not be recorded, it said.
There have been warnings since August that the number of people living on the streets in Germany is also likely to rise soon.
mgo/dpa