MORE THAN 6,000 people in Redbridge are homeless, according to the latest stats.

Housing charity Shelter puts the borough 11th highest for the number of homeless people per member of the population.

Currently, one in 48 in Redbridge are homeless. One in 25 people are homeless in Newham, the London borough with the worst level of homelessness.

A total of 6,197 people are estimated to be in temporary accommodation while 60 people are sleeping rough, taking the total number of homeless people in Redbridge to 6,257.

Redbridge’s population is 299,249.

There are 164,400 recorded as homeless in London, more than the population of Reading.

Shelter predicts the real number is likely to be higher because government figures are not definitive.

Connie Cullen, Shelter London hub manager said homeless was being made worse because of welfare cuts.

She said: “It’s shocking to think that today, more than 164,000 people in London are waking up homeless.

“Some will have spent the night shivering on a cold pavement, others crammed into a dingy, hostel room with their children. And what is worse, many are simply unaccounted for.

“On a daily basis, we speak to people and families who are desperately trying to escape the devastating trap of homelessness.

"A trap that is tightening thanks to decades of failure to build enough affordable homes and the impact of welfare cuts.”