A HOMELESSNESS charity has placed Richmondshire at the top of a regional league table for homelessness – naming the district as the worst in the whole of Yorkshire and the Humber.

Housing charity Shelter has revealed the scale of homelessness in the area by analysing a combination of the most up-to-date government statistics, freedom of information requests, and other published homelessness data.

The research is inspired by the charity’s original Green Book – the report that launched the charity in 1966 and exposed the grim reality of life for homeless families at the time.

The new Green Book identified Yorkshire and the Humber’s top 20 homelessness hotspots where people are most likely to lose the battle to stay in their homes. Richmondshire topped the list with one in 936 people living without a home. This was followed by Harrogate with one in 1,139, and Scarborough, with one in 1,155.

However, Richmondshire District Council has said it simply does not recognise the figures to be a true reflection of the district.

Deputy leader of the council, Councillor Ian Threlfall, said: “We simply do not recognise these figures. Like any other local authority homelessness does occur in our district but certainly not to the extent seen by some of the larger local authorities or conurbations.

“Between April and October this year 48 households made a homeless application to us - of which we accepted 34 as homeless where we had a legal duty to do so. "These figures are more or less in keeping with a small rural district such as ours.”

He said the Shelter report also failed to highlight the hard work local authorities like Richmondshire put into preventing homelessness – with Housing Options Advisors intervening where homelessness is likely, but before it actually occurs.

In 2014, members of the RDC housing team took part in a sleep out at St Mary’s Church, Richmond, for charity SASH (Safe and Sound Homes) which supports young homeless people.

The Nightstop service provided by SASH helps accommodate young people for a few nights in an emergency.

“Between April and October our team prevented 188 households from becoming homeless by intervening early – this avoids the trauma of families becoming homeless and being placed in temporary accommodation,” Cllr Threlfall added.

To support Shelter’s urgent Christmas appeal and help homeless families visit www.shelter.org.uk.

SASH is looking for more temporary hosts for young homeless people in the Richmond area. To be a Nightstop host for SASH visit www.sash-uk.org.uk.