Cumberland has the lowest homelessness rate in England this Christmas, new figures suggest.

Housing charity Shelter's research shows the number of homeless people across England rose by 14% in the last year.

It said the "housing emergency is out of control", and called on the Government to take the issue seriously.

The figures show 61 people are estimated to be homeless in Cumberland this year.

Of these, all live in temporary accommodation – organised by social services, the council or themselves – including 24 children.

Meanwhile, none of the total homeless population are sleeping rough.

Nationally, around 309,000 people will be without a home this Christmas, a rate of one in 182.

This is compared to one in 8,193 in Cumberland – the lowest rate in the country.

This is thanks to the work of the local council, and charities such as Carlisle Key. 

Carlisle Key works with young people 16-25 who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.

It provides assistance and support within our drop in and housing service to alleviate the hardship and distress caused by homelessness, housing, financial and other related difficulties.

Diana Vlad, chief executive officer at Carlisle Key, said: "We still receive referrals during this period and young people who are isolated still struggle and need support. We always provide a warm meal if needed and a hot drink. At our drop-in centre, we also have a pantry which has been filled this winter with donations from local schools through their Harvest Festival.

"This Christmas we used local donations and we bought some presents for young people that visit our centre and got some nice clothes and toys for the children.

"We also have another service that we provide which is our supported accommodation where we have staff that provide daily support towards independence."

 

On Friday, December 22, staff and young people at the charity came together to cook a Christmas dinner.

While Cumberland's homelessness stats may well be better than others in the UK, charities such as Carlisle Key still need as much as help as possible to try and eradicate homelessness completely.