The number of people sleeping rough in Greater Manchester has risen by nearly 50 per cent in a year, according to official figures - but campaigners say it is much more.

Statistics show there were 101 rough sleepers in the region in autumn 2014, 31 more than the same time the previous year.

In Manchester, the figure was up 79pc from 24 to 43.

The city now has more rough sleepers than anywhere outside London.

Rochdale saw a rise from six to 17, and Salford from seven to 14.

According to government figures, the number of rough sleepers in Bury fell from 10 to ZERO. But campaigners say that, in reality, is unlikely.

Oldham also has no one sleeping on its streets, the figures suggest.

Rough sleeping figures are collated by the government once a year from data provided from councils across the country.

Town halls collect data by actually carrying out a count of rough sleepers on a single night, or by compiling an estimate based on information including intelligence from outreach charities and the police.

Critics have long argued official figures are likely to be a significant underestimate as they are based on a snapshot of a single night.

In December, the M.E.N. revealed the shocking extent of the ‘hidden homeless’ in Greater Manchester.

Our investigation showed a ‘massive’ rise in rough sleeping since the recession, with people living in caves, old air raid shelters and under a supermarket in Stockport.

One homeless man, George, has been sleeping rough for 24 years - read his story here, and see the video below to hear from him ...

Video Loading Video Unavailable Click to play Tap to play The video will start in 8 Cancel Play now

Coun Daniel Gillard, who led a Manchester council inquiry on the issue that spoke to dozens of homeless organisations, said he believes around 150 people are now sleeping rough in the city centre – triple the official figure.

He said authorities had more or less got a grip on the problem in 2009, but since then numbers have rocketed.

Campaigners say benefit sanctions and evictions have led to a rise in rough sleepers across the region.

Manchester’s Booth Centre, which provides advice, activities, training and hot food for the homeless and those at risk of homelessness, said it sees around 170 people a week, a third more than two years ago.

More and more people attend the centre after losing their job. Rent arrears, combined with benefits sanctions, are a major issue.

Manager Amanda Croome said: “The figures don’t surprise us. The increases we’re seeing across Greater Manchester, we see on a daily basis; this isn’t a shock.

“But we’re really, very, very concerned about the rises. Anyone walking through Manchester couldn’t fail to see the increase.

“We’re particularly concerned about it in light of the cuts in council funding, which are going to impact upon services helping homeless people.

“The situation is only going to get worse. We’re appealing to councils across Greater Manchester to rethink decisions on cutting services for the homeless, otherwise, we’ll see another increase next year.

“We are seeing more people becoming homeless and it’s harder to get them off the streets. The prospect of what they’re planning now is really frightening.

“We’ve lost more than 150 beds in hostels in the last year. If we don’t have the beds, we can’t get people into them.”

See the work of the Booth Centre here

Despite the closure of The Salvation Army’s 110-bed hostel and rising homeless figures, Manchester council is now looking at cutting funding further as it seeks £55m in savings for 2015.

The Booth Centre and other organisations, bid for funding through the council’s ‘homeless prevention grant’. That could be cut by £200,000. Booth Centre bosses they could lose a third of their funding.

As part of further £1.8m cuts, funding will be cut at ten accommodation schemes, including hostels.

Council bosses insist none will close, and that those currently in accommodation schemes will still remain there until they ‘naturally move on’, or providers find alternative arrangements.

Town halls across the region say continuing government cuts mean support for vulnerable people, including the homeless, will be put under increasing pressure.

Council officials admit cuts could see rough sleeping rise further – as well as crime and hospital admissions - but say they’re working hard to mitigate the impact of savings.

Rough sleepers Greater Manchester 2013 Government data Rough sleepers Greater Manchester 2014 Government data

’'This is just a snapshot of one night...'

Councillor Paul Andrews, executive member for adults, health and wellbeing at Manchester council, said: “This figure is a snapshot of the number of people sleeping rough on any given night, but given that we are living in very challenging economic times it is perhaps not surprising that the number of rough sleepers is increasing both nationally and here in Manchester – as the city is a major centre that people gravitate towards.

“We have had to reduce our homeless prevention grant to voluntary organisations by just under £200,000 due to the government’s ongoing cuts, but we continue to take this issue very seriously and work closely with voluntary sector organisations to provide support to rough sleepers.

“Under the current budget consultation we have proposed plans, which have been overwhelmingly supported by all agencies involved, aimed at focusing our resources on services aimed at moving rough sleepers off the streets, helping them become independent by being given access to employment, education and training.

“We will also focus on providing a specialist homelessness prevention and advice service for young people and stopping homeless people from becoming rough sleepers. As well as this, we will provide specialist support during periods of cold weather to ensure homeless people and rough sleepers are helped though a more coordinated approach that will see a number of organisations providing advice, assistance and help in one place.”

'It's a tragic situation that leaves us struggling to help those in need...'

Numbers in Rochdale continue to increase.

Mark Widdup, the council’s director of economy and environment, said: “The council is committed to trying to prevent people from sleeping rough, and in the three months leading up to December 31, we helped over 400 households to prevent them from becoming homeless.

“On November 27, Rochdale undertook a rough sleeper head count along with other local authorities, resulting in 17 individuals reporting themselves as sleeping rough.

"This represents a snapshot of a single day, so is not a consistent or reliable representation of what is a continually fluctuating homeless situation across the region.

“There are no planned cuts in funding for homeless provision this year, but the ongoing cuts in central government funding mean that providing support for vulnerable members of the community will continue to be a significant challenge in future budgets.”

Salford, according to the figures, has just 14 rough sleepers, up 100pc.

But campaigners say there are many more.

Around £1.4m will be slashed from the council’s already dwindling £8m ‘supporting people’ budget used for helping vulnerable adults, families in poverty and homeless families.

City mayor Ian Stewart said: “Like most councils, Salford has seen a rise in rough sleeping and homelessness due to the economic situation, changes to welfare benefits, the bedroom tax and a shortage of affordable homes.

“Meanwhile, we have faced huge reductions in our core funding with £31m more to come this year and Salford also receives the lowest amount of homelessness prevention grant in Greater Manchester, despite huge pressures.

“It’s a tragic situation which leaves us struggling to help those in need. The scale of the cuts mean we have to reduce services right across the board to set a legal budget. It looks as if we will have to take as much as £1.4m from vital homelessness support services. It’s heartbreaking but this is a national problem and it needs urgent national attention.

“Meanwhile, we are trying to do what we can – working with partner organisations and putting support in to try and prevent people becoming homeless in the first place and trying to ensure those who are find the help they need from our services, partner organisations and local charities.”

'These figures are way off and devalue the work we do...'

In Stockport, the Wellspring centre estimates a 60pc increase in rough sleepers and believes there to now be around 50 in the town.

Jonathan Billings, who runs the centre, cast doubt on figures for the borough.

He said: “Seven is a very low figure. Throughout 2014, 324 people presented homeless at The Wellspring, compared to 149 in 2013.

“In November 2014, we did a homeless count with the help of hundreds of local people via Facebook who provided us with information regarding where they had seen people sleeping. On the day of our count we recorded 35 people.

“These figures are always way off. They are tokenistic and devalue the work that people to do help hundreds of homeless people.

“Figures like this make it difficult for services like ours to get funding in place, because the numbers say demand is a lot lower than it actually is.

“The rise in homeless people is rising much more quickly than this.”

See a video on people living in Stockport caves here

Video Loading Video Unavailable Click to play Tap to play The video will start in 8 Cancel Play now

Evictions and repossessions forcing people to sleep rough

Evictions are just one issue leading to a rise in homelessness.

The number of renters evicted from their homes reached a record high in Greater Manchester last year.

The number of instances of tenants turfed out of their homes through the courts throughout the region reached 2,032 last year - the highest total since records began in 2003.

Several boroughs, including Rochdale, Stockport and Salford, saw a record number of cases of tenants having their homes repossessed.

There were 193 evictions through the courts in Rochdale in 2014. That represented a 62.2 per cent increase on the 2013 figure of 119 cases - the sharpest rise in the region.

Evictions jumped nearly 20 per cent in Stockport to a record high of 171 cases, while in Salford there were 278 cases.

In Manchester, there were 501 incidences of renters having their homes repossessed last year. That was down 6.2pc compared to 2013 but still higher than any single year between 2005 and 2012.

Repossessions were up year-on-year everywhere in the region except Manchester and Oldham.