BRIGHTON could become the first city in the UK to adopt a bill of rights for homeless people.

Brighton and Hove City Council will debate on Thursday whether to adopt a homeless bill of rights.

A petition supporting the bill, which has been adopted by six cities in Europe, reached more than 2,000 signatures.

Lead petitioner Barry Hughes said a bill of rights will give homeless people “respect, dignity, and help in their struggle to survive”.

He said: “In truth, rough sleepers are treated at best as a problem and at worst as a nuisance to be cleared away.”

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“Brighton and Hove is in the top ten local authorities in the country for numbers of rough sleepers.

“These are just the ones you can see. There are thousands more people living in tents, cars, boats, hostels, and emergency and temporary accommodation.”

The bill protects 13 rights to homeless people.

Police evict rough sleepers from tents on Hove Lawns

This includes the right of “access to decent emergency accommodation” and the right to “use public space and move freely within it”.

It also protects the right to a postal address, basic sanitary facilities, and privacy.

The bill reads: “While the council strives for a city in which such practices are not necessary, we recognise that where people have no other option they will seek support from other people through begging or foraging for discarded food to survive.

“Such survival practices should not be criminalised as such, or banned, or arbitrarily confined to specific areas.

“People who are homeless should have their belongings, including tents and sleeping bags, respected by everyone including public servants.

“They should never be damaged or thrown away or be removed without compelling need, and if they are removed they should be made available for collection without charge.”

Conservative housing spokeswoman Cllr Mary Mears said she supported the bill, but was unsure if the council had the money to achieve it.

She said: “We need action on homelessness in the city, but this bill has a lot of legal and financial implications.

“It is a good start because we need to stop focusing on small incidents and link together the bigger picture.”

Both Labour and the Greens were contacted for comment but did not respond in time.