A charity is considering using converted shipping containers to house homeless youths who cannot afford the deposit on rented accommodation.

Forest YMCA may use up to ten of the so-called mYPads at its base in Forest Road, Walthamstow.

They would support young people leaving the YMCA for work, but who without their first pay cheque cannot afford the deposit and first month’s rent on their own home.

Forest YMCA and Waltham Forest Council are exploring various sites around the borough where the mYPads could be used as the authority seeks to tackle a housing waiting list of 24,000 people.

Timothy Pain, Forest YMCA CEO, said: "The result is that they often find themselves back at square one, returning to the supported accommodation service they have just left.

“We have developed mYPad in an attempt to find an intelligent affordable solution to the problem of ‘revolving door’ homelessness which many of our residents face.”

Mayor of Waltham Forest Richard Sweden joined Cllr Paul Douglas late last month to try out mYPads, made for single person accommodation.

Mayor Sweden said: “This sort of innovative approach gives young people a chance to move from semi-independent accommodation to their own self-contained living space.

“The idea is to provide a stepping stone to help them prepare for moving away from supported accommodation altogether and the YMCA in Waltham Forest should be commended for taking this forward.”