Almost 500 people have died homeless in the UK in the last 12 months, a nationwide investigation has found.

The Bureau of Investigative Journalism, monitoring the death of rough sleepers, said the 449 deaths were of those registered as homeless but warned the official death toll could be significantly higher because there is no official definition of homelessness.

Among the dead were a former soldier, a physicist, a travelling musician, a Big Issue seller and a community volunteer, the Bureau said.

Michael Cash died days after being attacked with red paint outside a Tesco Express in Normanby, Teeside

Three men’s bodies were so badly decomposed by the time they were were discovered they needed forensic testing to identify them.




Causes of death varied but included assault, drug overdoses, illness, suicide and at least one case of prolonged starvation.

Care home resident, 104, says visiting restrictions make her feel like she's in 'prison'

A total of 14 people died in just one week, the reasearch team discovered.

The ages of those who died were only known in 348 cases, with the average age of death for men 49 and 53 for women.

Those who died ranged in age from 18 to 94-years-old.

The Bureau’s findings were collated using data provided by charities, outreach organisations and local journalists across the country in collaboration with Channel 4 News.

Leslie Smith, known as Little Les, died after taking Spice in Hull in December (Picture: MEN)

It warned the death toll could be significantly higher, as there is no official definition of homelessness used by local authorities across the UK.

The definition used by the Bureau included rough sleepers, those in emergency accommodation such as hostels and B&Bs and sofa surfers.

Poppy Appeal at risk as vulnerable sellers unable to fundraise due to coronavirus

It also included those registered as officially homeless and awaiting housing by the Housing Executive in Northern Ireland.

Howard Sinclair, chief executive of homelessness charity St Mungo’s, said: ‘These figures are nothing short of a national scandal.

‘These deaths are premature and entirely preventable.’

The body of homeless man Jasandeep Singh, 40, also known as Happy, was found in west London in June (Picture: Metropolitan Police)

Jon Sparkes, chief executive of Crisis, said: ‘This is a wake-up call to see homelessness as a national emergency.’

Backlash over 'Black Lives Don't Matter' caps sold on Amazon

The Office of National Statistics (Ons) has announced it will work on official figures for homelessness deaths as a result of the findings.

It said the figures would improve understanding of how and why homeless people die.

Ons deputy director for health analysis and life events, Ben Humberstone, said it had seen the database set up by the Bureau and Channel 4 News and compared it with its own figures collected from death registrations.

‘Information gathered by outside organisations like these is not used for our official statistics, but it helps us develop the most accurate method of identifying all the deaths that should be counted,’ he said.

‘Although this is a new area of data collection, we have a responsibility to ensure it meets the same high standards of quality, accuracy, confidentiality and security as the rest of our work.’

Flowers left by Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and his staff at the underpass of Westminster Underground station where a man believed to be homeless was found dead in February (Picture: PA)

How charities are helping to prevent people dying homeless

Hundreds of extra beds are made available in emergency shelters and at homeless hostels in circumstances of extreme heat or cold but charities are also relied upon to provide beds to homeless people year-round.



Funding cuts in recent years have made it increasingly difficult for these charities to open their doors to the growing numbers of people who find themselves sleeping rough.

But teams of outreach workers and volunteers vigilantly work to make sure people sleeping on the street do not die there.

One vital way outreach workers help rough sleepers is by referrals made by members of the public through StreetLink.

How to refer a homeless person to Streetlink In cold weather, it's natural to want to help if you see someone struggling – and they probably will appreciate the offer of a hot drink or some food. But what they really need is a place to get out of the rough weather – and you can provide this by alerting homelessness charity StreetLink to their location. A simple way to help someone who is homeless is to give the charity StreetLink details about when and where you saw them, so they know where to go on their patrols. Volunteers go out every night in winter looking for people sleeping rough, to make contact with them and offer them a warm bed for the night. You can find them via their website here or call their 24-hour hotline on 0300 500 0914. You can make a referral online If you’re using the app or the website, StreetLink has an online form you can fill in. This lets them know exactly when and where you have seen somebody sleeping rough. Give as many details as possible When you refer someone be sure to include as much information as you can. By including where you saw the person sleeping, at what time and some details about their appearance, it will make it more easy for an outreach team to locate them and attempt to provide a solution. For example, you can write: ‘I have seen someone sleeping rough at (location) at (date) on (time).’ You don’t have to bother somebody who doesn’t want to talk While it is helpful to provide StreetLink with as much information as possible, there’s no need to bother a person who doesn’t feel like Details such as appearance, times, dates and locations, should be enough for StreetLink to pass on to outreach team – anything else is the job of local services. For more information on how you can help the homeless, click here. Source: StreetLink

Got a story for Metro.co.uk? If you have a story for our news team, email us at webnews@metro.co.uk. You can also follow us on Facebook and Twitter.