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A homeless man was found dead in the street on Christmas Eve as shoppers flocked to buy last-minute gifts,

The rough sleeper was discovered near the Poundland shop on the High Street in Chatham, Kent at around 11.40am.

The man, in his late 40s, has not yet been named and it is not known if his death was natural or suspicious.

The homeless group One Big Family tweeted the said news and said they saw him last Sunday at their Christmas party.

Founder Liz Ward told Kent Online: "We are all shocked and absolutely devastated by today's awful news.

"We saw the gentleman on Thursday and he attended our Christmas party for the homeless last Sunday.

"In fact, he was the last to leave. He said he had had a great time."

Kent Police said it was called at around 11.40am with officers still at the scene at 1.30pm.

(Image: Birmingham Mail) (Image: Birmingham Mail)

A shocking 3,500 Britons will have a cold pavement for a bed this Christmas as homelessness soars.

The shameful figure is a third higher than this time in 2015 and has doubled in five years.

Charities blame a lack of affordable homes, soaring rents and welfare cuts for homelessness on a scale they say just should not exist in 2016.

Paul Young, chief executive of Off The Fence, a charity in Brighton, said: “Homelessness is an epidemic. People are dying on the streets and it’s a scandal.”

The cap on benefits, a loss of trust in scandal-hit charities and a squeeze on public finances all add to the problem, Paul said. He added: “In 20 years we have never experienced such changes as we are facing.”

Homelessness is also bringing increasing misery to families, with 124,000 children forced into temporary accommodation this Christmas – up 10 per cent on last year.

Last month the body of a homeless man was found tragically 'frozen to death' in Birmingham's city centre on the coldest night of the year.

Chiriac Inout was found dead near to an NCP car park as temperatures dropped to minus six.