At a time when the world was swinging to the Beatles and landing on the moon these were the pictures that showed the grim side of 1960s Britain.

A young girl, seated on a bed of old sheets, damp paper hanging off the walls and a fireplace empty of any wood to burn.

A mother, struggling to push her baby in a pram through courtyards of shattered glass and decay.

Families, sleeping six to a bed, huddled under old coats for warmth. And children, old enough to be in school, with dummies still in their mouths to keep the hunger at bay.

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The images looked as though they had been taken in a war zone. They weren’t, but they might as well have been.

In 1968, homeless charity Shelter commissioned a photographer to document the oppressive and abject living conditions being experienced in poor quality housing in the UK.

Their goal was to illustrate, in human terms, what the real cost of bad housing was.

A mother struggles to push her baby in a pram in Glasgow. Nick Hedge for Shelter Scotland

Photographer Nick Hedges spent three years visiting some of the country’s poorest and most deprived areas, documenting housing conditions and quashing the myth that only people on the streets are homeless.

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His resulting images shocked the nation into action, convincing MPs of the urgent need to tackle the dreadful housing in Britain’s inner cities.

Tenement courtyard Maryhill 1971. Nick Hedges for Shelter Scotland

Fifty years ago, Scotland’s slums seemed more raw than most, with Hedges noting at the time that Glasgow tenements in particular were the “grimmest” environments that he had ever encountered.

“This has something to do with the size of the stone used in their construction, the entry to them through the cave like entrances, the deep and dark stairwells and the relentless pattern of streets,” he wrote in his photographer’s notes.

“The tenements are built around a courtyard which becomes a battlefield and refuse dump.”

Mother and toddler crossing tenement wasteland Edinburgh 1972. Nick Hedges for Shelter Scotland

This week, after a search was launched by the charity to find those who Hedges had photographed, a documentary on Channel 5 aired which suggested that growing up in poor housing both then and now can have a devastating effect on people’s life chances.

One of those who remembers how tough life in the tenements could be is 64-year-old George McCarrick, who grew up in Govan.

“The buildings were dilapidated, walls were actually falling down inside the buildings and they were overcrowded,” he says.

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“My granny, my sister, my brother and I were all living in one room pretty much, with outside toilets.

“We had two neighbours on the landing and the back courts were horrendous. I remember the air raid shelter still being there and the old wash house for people to do their washing.”

Teenage girls waiting in backyard of tenement block Maryhill 1971. Nick Hedges for Shelter Scotland

George grew up on 92 Greenfield Street, in tenements long since torn down, now replaced with car parks.

“There was a lot of burst pipes out in the back courts and sewage that seeped out,” he says.

“People would push their laundry out in a big pram. The middens were never emptied and there was garbage all over the place.”

Mother living with children in an overcrowded tenement flat, Glasgow 1971. Nick Hedges for Shelter Scotland

George, who says his first wage came in at about £3.40 an hour for a 42-hour week, remembers how most couples who wanted to get married and settle down had nowhere to go.

“I think we were more poor then than now even though there was more work going,” he says.

School girl in a Glasgow tenement courtyard 1971. Nick Hedges for Shelter Scotland

Today, frequent news reports would argue that for some parts of Scotland, not enough has changed.

While regeneration programmes have developed many of the slum areas, last year, Citizens Advice reported that rogue landlords were raking in £5.6bn in rent payments each year for unsafe homes that did not meet legal standards set out by the Housing Health and Safety Rating System.

The tenement blocks in Maryhill were thickly populated. Nick Hedges for Shelter Scotland

This includes category one hazards such as severe damp, rat infestations and even risk of explosion. The report also reveals 740,000 households in the UK presented a “severe threat to tenants’ health”.

The majority were in Scotland where a quarter of tenants described their renting conditions as a “nightmare”, higher than anywhere else in the UK.

Children playing in semi derelict tenements Maryhill Glasgow 1971 Nick Hedges for Shelter Scotland

One of the biggest concerns for the Shelter Scotland charity is the continued urgent need for safe homes for families.

Only this week, Shelter revealed that they had recorded a 6% rise in the number of people calling for help over the past year.

The homelessness charity said in the last 12 months, 20,882 calls were made to its free national helpline.

Children playing in the street by Leith tenement Edinburgh 1972 Nick Hedges for Shelter Scotland

Adam Lang, head of policy and communications at Shelter Scotland, confirmed that there is an increasing number of people needing help.

“We are still failing far too many people in our society, particularly the most vulnerable, with the most basic of human rights – the right to shelter and a home,” he said.

“It is now time for local and national government to take bold action to tackle the tragedy of homelessness head on.”

Children playing in a derelict tenement Glasgow. Nick Hedges for Shelter Scotland

According to the charity, more than 5200 children will wake up homeless this Christmas in Scotland and around 30,000 households were made homeless last year, with 10,500 forced to live in temporary accommodation.

The charity has pledged to highlight the plight of homeless children at Christmas and has urged MSPs to sign up to their campaign aimed at ending the “human tragedy” of homelessness in Scotland.

Couple and child in a Edinburgh tenement flat 1972. Nick Hedges for Shelter Scotland

As Adam Lang adds: “It’s shameful that each year there are thousands of people sleeping rough on our streets, that there are thousands more hidden homeless people sofa surfing with friends and that on Christmas morning this year more than 5000 children in Scotland will wake up homeless in temporary accommodation.

“Frankly, we think it’s a disgrace that homelessness still exists in Scotland today.

“We are one of the richest nations in the world, yet nearly 30,000 households became homeless last year.”

Boys setting fire to waste bins Gorbals 1970. Nick Hedges for Shelter Scotland

For George McCarrick, who remembers life in the Scottish slums era, he is equally keen to see more done to help those seeking shelter.

“There has been regeneration but more could be done,” he says.

“For me, I will have the good and bad memories. It wasnae all bad. I don’t remember fights or violence, just us getting by as well we could.

“But I can’t understand why anyone would want to live in a tenement. I never will again.”

Sisters sharing a chair in a Gorbals slum tenement 1970. Nick Hedges for Shelter Scotland

To seek advice or support on housing in Scotland please visit the Shelter Scotland page or if urgent, call their emergency number on 0808 800 4444.