Andy Burnham gives 15 per cent of his mayoral salary to help the homeless

Andy Burnham is so worried about homelessness that he gives 15 per cent of his £110,000-a-year salary to help rough sleepers. The mayor of Greater Manchester often spends late nights or early mornings walking the streets.

“There was the former grenadier guard, the GP, the girl from foster care; homelessness is classless,” he says. The case that upset him the most was the 20-year-old he knew who died from pneumonia just before Christmas outside a Tesco store in Leigh. “He had learning difficulties and when his mother died, he fell apart.”

Government figures published last week show that the number of people sleeping rough in England has grown by 15 per cent in a year to 4,751. The issue was highlighted this month when Windsor