Homeless families could be moved miles away from the place they call home as the council struggles to deal with the number of people who can no longer afford to pay their rent.

Over the last year the number of people seeking emergency temporary accommodation has spiked.

The cost to the council is £3.8 million annually, paid from the General Fund, however it is predicted this will rise by more than £2m in the next two years.

Welfare reform is being blamed for the number of people presenting as homeless to the council and rising rents are making housing people even more costly.

At present, there are three categories for housing people.

Those with priority, such as families with secondary school children and medical needs are housed in the borough.

People who fall into category B, for example anyone with permanent employment can be housed up to an hour out of the borough.

The third category is housed wherever housing can be found.

In order to stop the burden of the costs falling on the tax payer, the authority is considering changing the system.

Under the new proposals there will only be two categories and the hour stipulation will be removed.

Anyone receiving medical treatment will be moved into Category A and all others will be housed wherever the council can find them a home, if plans go ahead.

It is not clear how far from the borough people could be placed.

Residents can give their thoughts via a survey opening next month.